


The Stars at Night Keep It Bright

by UNofFangirls



Series: Written in the Stars [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Rated for Mature Topics, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:43:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 78,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2239359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UNofFangirls/pseuds/UNofFangirls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jason Grace realizes he's become dissatisfied with his life as the perfect college student he decides to escape by studying abroad where no one know his name. It's all going well, until he meets Nico: A dim spark that relights the fire in Jason’s soul. But study abroad comes with a time limit, and if Jason wants this relationship to last he’s going to have figure out exactly what he wants. [On Hiatus Until While I Apply to Grad School and Finish Undergrad]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Summer of the Cold Air

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction has a soundtrack! During the chapters you may see text underlined containing a link. These go to songs that will add some atmosphere to that part of the text, and you can feel free to listen or continue without.

 [Jason Grace had done it to get away.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ou7FnmExvU)

College, he’d heard, was supposed to be a time of great exploration. People were meant to find themselves in college. Your main job was to study for a career that ignited a fire in your heart, and along the way most people were lucky enough to meet their soul mates and life-long best friends. Instead, Jason woke up near the end of his sophomore year and realized he hated his major, was no longer in love with his girlfriend, and had no idea who he really was.

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the University of Oslo! My name is Erle and I’ll be your exchange advisor.”

So, like any normal person, Jason decided to drop everything and take a year abroad. It was a split decision made in the middle of the night while staring at his dorm room ceiling, but sending in his application had been the first time Jason had felt his heart beat that fast in years.

“Damn! Check out the rack on that one!”

Jason rolled his eyes at the excited young man beside him. “Leo, could you managed to focus on what a girl says for more than thirty seconds before looking at her breasts?”

“No can do, Superman!” Leo quipped and wiggled his brows. “You may have picked Norway for the academics, but I’m here for the chicks.”

Completely predictable, but Jason couldn’t help but chuckle warmly at the declaration. Maybe he hadn’t found himself yet, but he sure had done a fantastic job so far of finding amazing people.

“The fall semester begins on August 11th this year,” Erle continued from the front of the room, oblivious to the sniggering going on just a few rows back. “During today’s orientation you’ll receive your weekly schedule, your finals schedule, and a list of required books. We’ll also get your international student IDs, and after lunch some professors will come for you to ask them questions about the following term.”

Jason tuned out during most of the introduction speech. He was so excited to actually _be_ here that he didn’t really care where most people ate their meals or how you were supposed to log-in to the computers on campus. Jason was itching to get out there and dive right into the semester. Back home, he’d been on a mindless track of business and economics degree, girlfriend, sports. He was already set to take over his father’s business, and had an amazing game record and a beautiful, smart, funny girlfriend. But it was all… stale. Like eating the same awesome, delicious meal over and over again until everything started tasting like oatmeal.

Norway was different. Norway was unknown. Here, there was no football or admiring classmates. He was one face in a sea of hundreds, giving him the opportunity to grow away from all of the expectations he’d come to rest on. He didn’t even have a girlfriend to worry about anymore. Everything was new, and Jason was ready to _feel_ things. Unfortunately, you couldn’t do that while sitting in a chair listening to a pretty blonde.

“You think I’d be able to get her number?” Leo whispered, eyes trained on Erle. 

Okay, so maybe Jason was the only one not feeling things while listening to a pretty blonde.

When the speech finally wrapped up everyone was given thirty minutes to collect their schedules before ID registration began. Jason stuck by Leo as they followed the crowd out of the small conference room where the orientation had been held. The hallway they came into was long and bright, with crisp white walls on one side, a seemingly endless row of windows on the other, and high ceilings that made Jason feel like he could just float up and touch their painted surface.  The whole room might have felt ethereal in its spaciousness if it weren’t for the chaos that was the hundreds of international students searching for the place to get their schedules. Several tables lined the walls and windows of the corridor, and Jason immediately noticed that lines were beginning to form in front of them.

“I guess this is where we get our schedules,” Leo noted.

“I think you’re right,” Jason replied. Now all they had to figure out was which table to go to. Jason, using his height to his advantage, peeked around a group of students and noticed that brightly colored banners were hanging from sign posts behind each table. “Looks like they’re set up alphabetically. I’m here, at D-e to G.”

“That means I’m at the end!” Leo groaned. “I’m always at the end.”

Jason just laughed and clapped his friend on the back before offering a shrug. “There’s no helping it. I’ll meet you at the ID registration place after I pick up my schedule.”

“Yeah okay,” Leo replied. “Whoever gets there first waits out front.”

Jason just nodded in agreement before stepping into his line. As soon as Leo was out of sight Jason began looking around to judge how long it might take. This line seemed to be the longest out of the tables in this area, and Jason could already feel himself getting fidgety at the thought of having wait. His ADD wasn’t nearly as bad as Leo’s, but lines always managed to make him restless.

In an attempt to curtail his boredom before it began Jason started glancing around the room in a casual round of people-watching. The students here seemed to be from all parts of the world, and Jason felt a momentary rush of embarrassment for thinking it’d be mostly Americans. He was used to jeans and sweaters, and just the way that Americans carried themselves in a conversation. Even though people were dressed in warm sweaters and pants, there was always something (an accessory or a hand gesture) that suggested they came from an entirely different culture. Every time Jason focused on one of these group he could hear little snippets of conversation, but they always seemed to be in a language other than English so his eyes never stayed long. Eventually Jason’s gaze drifted forward again, and he jumped when he realized he had almost run into the guy in front of him.

“Oh… sorry!”

Jason wasn’t sure what about the guy made him stare, but as soon as he turned around it was like Jason was rooted to the spot.

The eyes were what caught him first. Not their color, necessarily, but the look in them that made Jason feel like he was getting a prostate exam in front of a room full of medical students. The next thing he noticed was that his expression, while not necessarily friendly in any way, didn’t read annoyance or anger. No, his eyebrow was raised too casually for that. Instead he seemed to be studying Jason—taking in what he could and making a first judgment that was as thorough as possible. Or maybe he didn’t understand English and had no idea what Jason said. Either way, when the kid finally turned away Jason couldn’t help but feel like he’d suddenly been ripped out of focus.

“H-hey, I’m Jason!” Jason said, eager to get the guy to turn around again. Something in his stare had intrigued him in a way he couldn’t describe, and Jason wasn’t content to let the feeling sit. “I’m from the States. What’s your name?”

The guy turned around once more, though this time his expression was even more dubious. He was quiet for a few seconds, and for a moment Jason was afraid he really had just been babbling to someone who didn’t speak English, until the guy opened his mouth and  said, “Nico.”

“Nico?” Jason parroted back. “That’s a cool name! Where is it from?”

Once again the expression on the guy’s—Nico’s face read skepticism. Jason figured that wherever Nico was from they didn’t talk to strangers much.

“Italy,” Nico explained. His tone was short, but not exactly in the passive aggressive way people used when they wanted to end a conversation. “But you ask any European here and they’ll call me American.”

Jason nodded and found himself wanting to learn more about Nico. Nico seemed especially cautious to answer questions, and that just made Jason wonder why. So, before he could turn around again, Jason stepped closer to Nico and attempted to start a real conversation.

“So then you’re from the US, too,” he said. “Which college do you go to?”

Nico shuffled forward as the line moved, and Jason followed. This time Nico didn’t seem as wary with his reply.

“I go to the University of California, San Diego. I’m doubling in psychology and classics.”

Jason pocketed the information into a safe place in his mind. People’s majors said a lot about them, especially when they involved humanities. It was admirable to be pursuing passions in conjuncture with such a focus-intensive major, at least in Jason’s eyes, and the young man once again found himself fascinated by this new person.

“It must be nice in San Diego,” he said. “I heard the weather in So Cal is great.”

“Better than here,” Nico mumbled with disdain. Jason offered a sympathetic smile and nodded. Even though he’d looked at the weather records before he’d left he never expected it to be this _cold_.

“I know what you mean,” Jason supplied. “I’m originally from the Bay Area, but now I go to school in New York. NYU actually. Even if it gets cold in the winter I’m not sure if I’m ready for what they call winter here.”

Nico grunted, a thick brow raised in what seemed to be… something not negative. Jason cocked his head to the side as his mouth turned up in an amused smirk.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m from Long Island,” Nico said with a small shake of his head.

Jason laughed. “Guess we just missed each other, huh?”

Nico made a noncommittal noise, but that noise was just a fraction of a note higher than Nico’s speaking voice had been through their entire chat and Jason felt his hands twitch involuntarily. Huh. That was weird.

“Last name?”

Jason started when he realized they’d reached the front of the line. He could’ve sworn they were in the back just a few seconds ago.

“Di Angelo. D-I space A-N-G-E-L-O.”

“Nico Di Angelo?” she asked, pulling an envelope from a small pile labeled ‘D’.

“That’s it.”

Jason couldn’t help but hum thoughtfully as he rolled the name around in his head. Nico turned, giving him a look even as he held his hand out for his information.

“What?” he asked.

“Your name is poetic,” Jason said. “Di Angelo. Nico Di Angelo.”

“Last name?”

Jason looked down at the woman manning the table and smiled. “Grace. Jason Grace.”  
  
Nico scoffed, and Jason gave him a curious look. Nico just rolled his eyes before busying himself with opening his envelope. “Nothing. Your name is just _so_ poetic.”

Jason couldn’t help but laugh, and as soon as he had his schedule in hand he quickly moved to Nico’s side. Nico knew how to talk in a way that made Jason want to listen. His responses weren’t overly furnished with details, and the quick wit and sarcasm was dry in a way that Jason wasn’t used to. Still, he liked it.

“So what do you think of the campus so far?” Jason asked as he walked with Nico into the brisk Norwegian summer. Even though it looked sunny and clear the weather was ridiculously chilly for it to be August. Jason wondered how all the Burch trees stayed so green when they couldn’t even start an indoor garden back in New York.

“It’s cold,” was Nico’s straightforward response. “And their heating bills must be ridiculous with all of these ground to ceiling window installments. No wonder this place is so expensive.”

“Tell me about it,” Jason groaned. Convincing his Dad to sign the check had been one of the toughest battles of Jason’s life. It didn’t help that Jason had only just presented the paperwork the day before it was due, never having mentioned study abroad at any time before that point. And it also didn’t matter that his Dad was filthy rich. UO was expensive, and his step-mother had been sure to rant about its price tag and some bullshit regarding gratefulness and “my baby!” for the entire month leading up to his departure.

“Though to be honest, if everything else is as cool as they say I think I can get used to the weather.”

“Let me guess, you’re out to see the aurora borealis and participate in a May-Pole festival?”

Jason stopped dead in his tracks and felt his jaw fall open. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Let’s just say,” Nico began cryptically, “that you remind me very much of a friend who told me to do those exact same things while I was here.”

Jason let out a curious ‘huh’ and stepped back in line with Nico. The two were focused on walking, but every now and then Jason would sneak a peek at Nico. Usually, Nico caught him pretty fast and made Jason look away in embarrassment. Once or twice, though, Jason caught Nico in a moment of unguarded thought. In those times Jason noted that the lines on Nico’s face softened, almost as though the tension that built up from in-depth analysis was finally resting. Jason almost felt like he shouldn’t be staring, but before he could think too hard into it Nico would find his eyes and he’d have to turn away.

“So are you going to ID registration now?” Jason asked after a few minutes of the coy, cat-and-mouse game.

“No. I’m going home.”

That caused Jason’s gait to stutter a bit as he got over his surprise. “But… don’t you need your ID?”

“I registered yesterday with the EU students,” Nico said. “They didn’t have my schedule ready, though, since I enrolled with my US Passport.”

Jason was hard pressed to hide his disappointment as he let out a soft ‘oh’. He caught Nico’s gaze as the slightly shorter man gave him a side-long glance, but then Nico was looking forward again and changing direction to move toward the bus stop. The bright red, electric buses hummed patiently at their post, and Jason wished the bus would stall so he could have a few more minutes.

He didn’t know why, but he wanted Nico to stay. He like talking to Nico. He wanted to ask him how he liked California and maybe cross-reference each other’s schedules. Jason remembered feeling this way once before, when he first met his father after the man came to pick he and Thalia up from boarding school. Back then the eagerness had come from wanting to know about the man who he would be able to call Dad. He’d been young and stupidly adoring of the broad shouldered, bright faced man that bent down to ask if he knew who he was at the tender age of six.

This, though, was just a little different. Nico was more of a question than an answer. He was weary, but sarcastic and straightforward all at the same time. Instead of looking at Jason with pride or wonder Nico just watched him, calculating each of his actions to decipher what they meant, and then deciding all before Jason could read him. It was an endless challenge, those few moments in between their conversations. Jason found it exhilarating.

“I’ll see you later?” Jason called hopefully as Nico moved further away. Nico stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder at Jason with another one of those disbelieving, highly cautious looks that Jason was so intrigued by, and just shrugged his shoulders before finally climbing onto the bus.

With Nico now gone Jason couldn’t help but sigh, feeling the pull from earlier loosen only to coil into a heap at bottom of his stomach. Nico was interesting. Like, really interesting. There was something about the other exchange student that made Jason want to sit down and listen to his life story. Jason wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew Leo could see him mulling over it when he got to the registration building.

“Why do you already look miserable?” Leo asked. “We haven’t even started classes yet.”

“Leo,” Jason began, ignoring his friend’s question, “have you ever just been… so fascinated by a person that you immediately wanted to know everything about them?”

Leo’s face twisted into a look of impish disbelief. “You found a girl already? Damn Jason, you really don’t waste time with these things. I need to step my game up.”

“What?” Jason asked. “No, I didn’t meet a girl. I met a guy, but it wasn’t _that_ kind of fascination.”

Jason had never dated a guy before, but there had been a few lingering gazes that had convinced him that he was not strictly heterosexual. Still, his thing about Nico hadn’t been romantic or sexual, anyway. It was more like Nico just had this engaging ability to hook Jason to his every word. His eyes and the myriad of expressions Jason had read on his face—and even the ones he had seen but had been unable to decipher—left Jason hungry for more information.

“It’s kind of like when you found that old junker in the Bronx and spent three months repairing it even though it probably would have cost you less to buy a new car,” Jason said.

Leo looked offended. “Carlotta is _not_ a junker,” he said. “She’s a beautiful piece of machinery that kept me attached by being wholly unpredictable.”

“But, that’s exactly what I mean,” Jason continued as he finally began walking through the ornate wooden doors of the registration building. “Whenever he spoke he said something I wasn’t really expecting. I mean, it was nothing profound or even weird, but it was… different.”

“Maybe you’re just tired of talking with vapid New Yorkers,” Leo suggested as he stole a place in line for them. “New York literally has three types of people: Pretentious, Busy, and Poor.”

“He’s originally from Long Island,” Jason supplied, though that didn’t help his argument much.

Leo rolled his eyes. It was obvious he was annoyed by all the excuses Jason was coming up with, but Jason was never one to take a half-assed theory.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s because he’s different or whatever. He’s… I duno. He makes me feel… ugh, what’s the word?”

Leo shrugged and peeked around the students in front of them to get a feel of the line. “If you really want to think about it and do some psycho-analysis on yourself, it’s probably just Norway. You’re free from home and expectations and shit and you met someone who doesn’t treat you like the prodigal son. You’re probably so in awe right now of your own invisibility that you’re mistaking that for interest.”

“You think?” Jason asked.

“Maybe? Who knows?” Leo replied. “But it’s the first day, and I think you’re thinking way too hard about this if you believe you’ve found your soul mate three hours into orientation day.”

“Leo, I _told_ you—”

“Yeah yeah, Superman,” Leo said, cutting Jason off with a wave of his hand. “Let’s change the subject. Schedule out, come on.”

With the conversation put to the side Jason was forced to focus once more on the task at hand. He and Leo compared schedules, collected their IDs, and spent a couple more hours poking around the orientation events before heading back to their university-owned apartment. Compared to NYU, the Oslo campus was open and sprawling, with plenty of trees and grass patches to spread out on. Unfortunately, the boys had just arrived from a New York summer, and the temperature was a bit too much to bear around five pm. Still, Jason hoped he’d be brave enough to take a run around campus soon.

Unfortunately, Norway didn’t give him much time to adjust. The weather only got colder with each passing week, and as soon as the term started Jason was slammed with work. It really hadn’t been bullshit when the research said that UO was one of the highest ranked schools in Europe. Jason found out the hard way that the business and economics departments were at the top of the totem-pole of inter-student competitiveness.

On top of that, Jason’s natural charm and Leo’s never-ending energy had them collecting a new group of friends quite fast. The pair were at all of the study-abroad event nights, and party invitations were being received faster than Jason was able to keep up. On the weekends that Jason wasn’t going to a party or study group he was getting back to doing the things he loved. Reading, cooking, going for runs. Despite how busy he was he’d never had this sort of free time back home. It was… kind of liberating.

With everything Jason was doing to keep up with his new surroundings, the memories of Nico soon became buried, along with the unending feeling of intrigue that plagued him whenever he thought of the young man. There were other people to think about. Other things to do. Only occasionally did Nico’s name float to the surface: When he passed by a group of psych students, or when he came upon an Italian name in his textbooks. The busyness kept Jason from lingering. If things kept going at the pace they were, Jason might have forgotten about his meeting with Nico completely.

Lucky for Jason, the universe wasn’t going to let that happen.

One early October evening Jason came back from a run to find Nico sitting at his kitchen table with a cup of tea in his hands. Jason was so surprised that he had paused in the middle of taking off his left shoe, which quickly became an embarrassing situation when Nico looked over at him and raised one eyebrow in judgmental questioning.

“Jay, is that you?”

Leo came out through the kitchen door and gave his best friend a curious look, which finally motivated Jason to take off his other running shoe and set both of them neatly by the entry way.

“Hey Leo… um,” Jason looked over to Nico and gave an awkward smile. “Hi Nico.”

Nico just nodded and said, “Jason.”

“Do you two know each other?” Leo asked as he took a seat across from Nico at the table. The sight of the two of them sitting casually together drinking tea was totally bizarre, and Jason just nodded dumbly as he walked into the living room.

“On orientation day. He’s the one I told you about, Leo.”

“No shit?” Leo regarded Nico for a moment, and Jason prayed he wouldn’t say anything stupid or embarrassing. “Well, now he’s my Calculus buddy. Our professor is making us do problem sets together.”

“Just you two?” Jason asked.

“The whole class,” Nico replied. “Twice the homework in half the time, she says.”

“Sucks,” Jason said. It was a canned response. He was still recovering from the shock of having Nico in his apartment, which was probably idiotic if he thought about it. He and Nico had met once, and they’d barely learned anything about one another other than their names and where they went to school. There was no reason for Jason to be so thrown off, especially since he’d forgotten Nico quickly enough after they’d parted.

“Well then, don’t let me bother you guys. I’m just going to shower and then get something to eat.”

“Mm hm, thanks Jason,” Leo said. He waved a hand at Jason before pulling a textbook from his backpack and setting it open on the table between himself and Nico. Jason watched them for a moment longer before heading to the bathroom.

While steam filled the air and the sound of running water echoed off of the bathroom tiles, Jason stared at his feet and undressed. The fact that he’d almost forgotten about Nico was nearly as shocking as his initial curiosity with the other young man. September seemed to fly by in a mess of new faces. Jason had remembered some and would probably barely recognized others, but Nico was different. After he’d met him that first day Jason remembered turning over their conversation for days, though the curiosity slowly died out as the month wore on.

Like he’d told Leo before, nothing about Nico was incredibly special or unique. He was just interesting. When he spoke to Jason there wasn’t any sort of reverence or even respect, really, but he was genuine.

Jason stepped into the shower and picked up a bar of soap. As he washed himself his body worked on autopilot, taking extra care to scrub places that had become damp with sweat during the run and barely sliding over tender areas in his legs and hips. After skin it was hair, and Jason must have lathered for fifteen minutes as he kept mulling over his thoughts.

It’s not that he didn’t know genuine people. In fact, Jason preferred to spend time with genuine people more so than the people his Dad and Step Mom introduced him to during their various cocktail parties. Leo and Piper were two of the most sincere people he’d ever met, and that’s why they were his best friend. But even Leo and Piper hadn’t made Jason feel like he was earning the right to companionship when they’d first met. It had been an easy jump from strangers to friends. With Nico Jason felt he’d started out in a gray area somewhere in between.

Jason turned the shower off and stepped out to towel himself off. After a quick dash to his room to get a change of clothes he walked back into the living room, where Nico and Leo were still talking over their work. Jason didn’t want to bother them, and instead stepped into the kitchen to make some food.

In Norway kitchens were small. Jason was rather big. It wasn’t a perfect combo, and Jason should’ve just grabbed a bowl of cereal and went back to his room. He was hovering, though, and he knew it. He had no reason to make an omelet at six in the evening, but his ears were shamelessly tuned in to every small snippet of their conversation and his omelet took nearly twenty minutes to make.

By the time Jason was finished and ready to retreat he could hear the sounds of chair legs scraping against the hardwood. He poked his head out of the kitchen and found Nico putting his stuff away while Leo stretched, and Jason walked over to them with a smile.

“Done for tonight?” he asked.

Nico nodded and shouldered his bag. “Sorry to stay so late, but it’s the only time I have available on Wednesdays.”

“Hey, at least you offered to come over,” Leo said. “If I had to find your place this late at night I would not be happy.”

“Do you live far away?” Jason asked.

Nico paused to give him a half smile. “Kind of.”

For a moment, Jason smiled and stood there, trying to figure out how to respond since Nico hadn’t offered up an explanation. Nico just looked mildly amused before he shook his head and waved to he and Leo.

“Alright then, thanks Leo. I’ll see you next week.”

“Sounds good!” Leo called as he went to the kitchen. The clang of pots and cabinet doors soon followed.

Jason rolled his eyes and set his omelet down. “Excuse him, he doesn’t know what manners are. I’ll take you to the door.”

“You know it’s right there,” Nico said, even as he let Jason follow him.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Jason said with a shrug. “Get home safe, alright?”

Nico scoffed, but it sounded like a laugh. “Who said chivalry was dead? It’s alive and well in one Mister Jason Grace.”

“Well, what can I say?” Jason replied with a sleazy, politician-like grin. This time Nico laughed for real, and Jason joined him until the amusement settled into a warm silence. Jason was smiling, but then again so was Nico.

“It was good to see you again, Jason,” Nico said. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jason agreed. “Seriously, get home safe. The sidewalks are slippery at night.”

“Will do.”

With that, Nico stepped out of the apartment and made his way to the elevator at the end of the hall. Jason closed the door and walked back into the living room to finish his dinner. Leo joined him a few minutes later.

“So,” Leo began as he cut into his chorizo, “that was _the_ Nico.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jason asked dryly.

“Nothing really. Though I’ll admit: At first I was surprised, but after thinking about it I kind of get why you have such a crush on him.”

“Leo—what?” Jason rolled his eyes and stuffed more omelet into his mouth. “I told you it wasn’t like that.”

Still…

“But why do you say that?”

The naughty grin on Leo’s face made Jason immediately regretful for asking. He couldn’t trust Leo for a second, and it was always worse when it came to someone he could be into.

“Because he’s weird,” Leo said, almost as if it were spray painted on the walls of their apartment. “He’s quiet, suspicious, and blends into the background. Meaning—”

“Meaning?”

“He’s the exact opposite of you. But, more than that, he’s similar to you in more ways than you’d expect.”

Jason furrowed his brows and leaned back in his chair. “And what the hell does _that_ mean?”

Leo laughed and stood up with his empty plate. “Come on. Piper is expecting us to call and I don’t think she’ll be happy if we’re late again.”

Jason sighed, realizing he wasn’t getting a further explanation, and took his plate to the sink to wash. Even if Leo was sealing his lips Jason didn’t care. This was not going to turn into a romantic thing, especially since he didn’t know enough about Nico to let that happen. For now, at least, he just wanted to get to know him better.

Good thing that the universe was in a kind mood.


	2. In The Sky Suspended by Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico was silent for a moment, but his actions were clear enough. He moved back, grabbed at his cup, and made a fuss of sipping his coffee and adjusting his papers as he avoided even glancing in Jason’s direction. While Jason never got a chance to really talk to Nico when he came over, he recognized this behavior from when someone put Leo on the spot. He’d made Nico nervous.
> 
> It was actually really cute.

A few weeks of awkward dinners and pleasant chats passed before Jason finally met Nico outside of his study sessions with Leo.

He’d been on his way to the library when he spotted Nico sitting inside the campus coffee shop. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to see the smaller man, given Nico was hiding in the dimmest corner of the shop, but Jason chalked that up to weeks of getting to recognize Nico’s study-posture. He’d been planning on getting an afternoon pickup anyway, and it was so damn cold outside his toes were going numb, so it didn’t take much to convince himself to pop in and say hello.

The warmth of the cozy café was the first thing that hit Jason as soon as he stepped inside. His fingers immediately began to prickle with the delightful pain of his nerve endings expanding. The next thing Jason noticed was the smell of rich coffee slow roasting somewhere behind the counter. He was dying for a cup, and he figured he’d look considerably less creepy if he ordered something before going over to say hi to Nico.

One order later Jason was approaching the corner table where Nico sat with his nose buried in a book. Jason opened his mouth to greet him, but Nico just waved him to sit down.

“I saw you come in, Jason. Just sit.”

Jason shut his mouth and did as told. He supposed he probably should have seen that coming, but then again if he had that wouldn’t have made Nico so… Nico. The nicest part was, even though Nico looked busy with whatever he was reading, he still marked his spot and looked up at Jason with his full attention.

“What are you doing here?” [Nico asked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swPn8E644sA).

“Well I was on my way to the library, and—” For a moment, Jason contemplated lying and telling Nico he’d planned to get coffee all along. After all, wasn’t it a little weird to admit he’d paused his plans just because he saw Nico outside of his apartment and was eager to talk? Then he realized Nico would probably see right through that and silently judge him, so he went for the truth instead. “I was on my way to the library and I saw you sitting in here. I’ve never been here before and I wanted to say hi, so here we are.”

“Here we are,” Nico repeated, a small smirk on his face. “What’s your order?”

“Regular coffee.”

“Cream?”

“Yes.”

“Sugars?”

“Two.”

Nico scoff-laughed and leaned back in his arm chair. He looked so comfortable, with his ankle crossed over his knee in his big, warm looking bomber jacket. Jason wanted to tell him it was a nice look, but he figured he’d been weird enough today.

“You have a very sweet order, Jason,” Nico said.

“Who me?” Jason asked. “That’s like the manliest drink on the board, excuse you.”

Nico just held out his cup, and after a moment of staring at it Jason realized he was being offered a drink. He chalked up his sweaty palms to the warmth of the café before taking a sip, then immediately twisted his lips and stuck out his tongue as he handed it back.

“What on earth is that?” he asked, taking a chug of his own coffee to wash out the taste.

Nico was, no surprise, laughing at him as he accepted his cup back. “Black coffee with a double shot of espresso.”

Jason’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Are you trying to kill a horse? What kind of order is that at…” Jason checked his watch and snorted. “Noon. You’re drinking black coffee with a double shot of espresso at noon.”

“Don’t try to make me look bad because you’re weak.”

“Weak?” Jason asked, trying so hard to not break into a round of really loud, obnoxious laughing. “You slay me, Di Angelo. I thought we were friends.”

Nico’s mouth opened just a bit, as if he wanted to come back with a snappy retort, but instead he looked away and sunk into his chair. Jason took Nico’s moment of flustered embarrassment to lean forward and take a look at Nico’s book. It was a damn tome, and it came with a small-ass font size to match. Jason seriously worried about the health of Nico’s eyes if he was reading such a thing in practical darkness.

“So what subject is this for?” he asked.

“Classics,” Nico sighed. He seemed to have regained his composure, and he set his cup down to thumb through a couple pages. “Beowulf, specifically. A special annotated version.”

Jason hummed sympathetically and moved his chair to get a better look at the text. He could barely read it, save for a couple words. Nico told him that it was an old translation—older than Shakespeare’s English. Jason admired Nico’s ability to decipher any of it.

“Where are the annotations?” Jason asked.

“Ah, get up and sit over here,” Nico offered. He stood, and Jason traded spots with him. Nico then scooted closer and leaned forward, pointing at a few lines that seemed to be colored differently. When Jason looked harder he noticed he could actually read those lines pretty clearly.

“Wait, is this pen? The annotations didn’t come with it?”

Nico nodded and Jason noticed a satisfied little smirk on his face. “I bought this at the UCSD bookstore. It was a used copy, and I was leafing through the pages to find the copy in the best condition, and instead I find microprint annotations that give more historical context than I could’ve gotten from most of the grad students.”

Jason whistled and shook his head as he read a couple of lines from the added annotations. “Wow, talk about luck. I wish I could make a find like this.”

“Yeah, well I guess sometimes fortune has to be kind.”

Jason glanced at Nico from the corner of his eye after that comment. The tone of his voice was wry, but it was so slight that Jason wondered if he had imagined it. Still, the moment was uncomfortable. Not between them, necessarily, but Jason felt like Nico was veering away from their light conversation. For Jason, that warranted a change of topic.

“Hey, I know I was going to the library, but I think I’ll be fine for my MacroEcon test tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Nico asked.

“Yeah. And by the looks of it, you might need a break, too.”

“Coffee _is_ my break,” Nico said, mouth twitching in an attempt not to smile.

Jason leaned his weight on the arm of his chair and made sure he got so close that Nico had nowhere else to look but at him. The other young man raised a brow and leaned back, but only slightly. From here Jason could see the memory of some freckles on the bridge of Nico’s nose.

“You know, you keep doing that thing where you try not to look happy when I say something that obviously amuses you, unless it’s to make fun of me,” Jason pointed out. His own tone was light and teasing, but he was being serious. “Why don’t you just admit that you enjoy my company, and we can take a _real_ study break.”

Nico was silent for a moment, but his actions were clear enough. He moved back, grabbed at his cup, and made a fuss of sipping his coffee and adjusting his papers as he avoided even glancing in Jason’s direction. While Jason never got a chance to really _talk_ to Nico when he came over, he recognized this behavior from when someone put Leo on the spot. He’d made Nico _nervous_.

It was actually really cute.

“Nico?”

“You have to buy me another coffee afterwards.”

Jason blinked. “Huh?”

“After our study break,” Nico said with a pointed look. “You have to buy me another coffee so I can finish my reading.”

Jason seriously worried about Nico’s health with all that damn caffeine in his bloodstream, but he wasn’t going to look a gift-horse in the mouth. He gave Nico a big smile, and after a pause Nico threw him a much smaller smile back. Still, it was a smile. Not a smirk! That was a start.

“Alright, pack up your things!”

“Um, okay, but where are we going?” Nico asked. “Because it’s about thirty eight degrees outside and if your plans don’t involve a heated room I take back everything I just said.”

Jason just snorted and shook his head. “I promise I’m not going to stick you in the cold, but that’s all I’m telling you. You gotta learn to trust me, Nico.”

Nico slung his backpack over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “I barely know you, Jason.”

Ah, that was true, and for some reason Jason was put off by it. He draped an arm over Nico’s shoulder and steered him toward the door, only to have Nico shrug him off before they stepped outside. “Well then, I’d say we’re long overdue for a trust-forming bonding session.”

“I swear you’ll make me regret this,” Nico groaned.

Jason held the door open and smirked. “I swear I won’t.”

   


Thirty minutes later Jason was nudging Nico’s wallet away as they stepped up to the ticket booth for Tjuvtitten. Nico tried to protest, but Jason insisted twenty krone wasn’t a big deal and that Nico could pay next time they went out.

“I still don’t understand the choice of giant elevator,” Nico sighed. “Isn’t this kind of touristy?”

“It’s totally touristy,” Jason laughed. He handed their tickets over to the operator and stepped inside before beckoning Nico to join him. The elevator was small, but there was more than enough room with just the two of them. “Sorry. I hear the view from the ski lift is better, but I figured that was a bit too out of the way. Besides, you gotta suck it up and be the tourist sometimes!”

Nico hummed and stood back as the doors closed and the glass elevator made its quick move upward. Jason noticed Nico didn’t stay too close to any of the windows as the elevator moved, and he wondered if Nico was afraid of heights like his sister. If so he didn’t think he’d ask. One thing Jason knew about acrophobics was that you didn’t tease them when they were in a situation where their feet weren’t firmly planted on the ground.

The trip to the top took less than a minute, but the view was stunning. With the exception of some fog far off in the hills they could see everything. The clean lines of modern buildings, the bright facades of older houses, the way the water met the city in a sharp contrast between civilization and the sea were all a feast for Jason’s senses. For some reason, seeing things from this vantage point just made Oslo all the more amazing. What he would give to be able to fly…

“I think I can see my apartment from here,” Jason heard Nico quip from somewhere to his right.

Nico had his face close to the glass, and his eyebrows were knit in a puzzled sort of way. Jason walked (or shuffled, considering the space they had) over to where Nico was standing and tried to see what he was seeing.

“Which one?” Jason asked.

“Well… see that tall, brown church tower?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that’s the church two blocks away from my place,” Nico informed. “It’s actually where I get off the bus. And I think… that white building by it is my place, but then again that other white building could also be it.”

Jason chuckled and ruffled Nico’s hair, which got him a smack on the hand. Despite the quick reaction Jason had enough time to admire the fact that Nico’s hair, while an absolute mess, was quite thick and soft. He needed to ask Nico which shampoo he used.

“By the way, you always say you’ve got a long way to go whenever you come over,” Jason said as he turned back toward the view of the harbor. “Do you live that far away?”

“A good half hour ride,” Nico said with a shrug. Jason’s face must have read some sort of intense displeasure, because Nico looked utterly amused. “I’m not good at tolerating others in my space. Even with a single my freshman year I could barely stand my suite-mates, and one of them was an old friend. So I had to get at least a one-bedroom, and my complex is cheaper than what the university provides, if not a little older and smaller.”

“Damn that sucks.” Jason had taken the easy route and had agreed to split campus-owned housing with Leo. Even if he did have to find a new roommate when Leo went home during second semester, he thought living close to campus was way better than fighting public transport every morning. “What borough do you live in, exactly?”

“Grünerløkka. It’s a nice area.”

“Grünerløkka… wait I think I know that area. Is it the one with all the old, colorful buildings and cafés, right?” Nico nodded, and Jason smiled. Now whenever Nico said he was going home Jason had an image of where home was. “I went to a club there with Leo and a few other exchange students one night. It’s a fun place to meet people.”

Jason noticed that suddenly Nico’s shoulders had pulled back, and he was staring out the windows as if he were barely listening. “Oh? I wouldn’t know.”

Jason wasn’t sure, but he felt like he’d said the wrong thing. Nico, even when he was being condescending, would always give Jason some sort of look (usually with a quirked eyebrow that asked ‘Jason, what the fuck?’). Now he seemed like he was pretending Jason wasn’t there at all. The elevator gave a small jerk as it kicked back into gear, and the whole way down Jason didn’t know what to say to make Nico look at him again. It really, really bothered him that Nico wouldn’t look at him.

As soon as the doors were open Nico was out. Jason almost slipped trying to chase after him, which wasn’t completely necessary given Nico didn’t go that far, but a heavy feeling was building up in Jason’s chest that kept telling him he **had** to fix whatever he’d done wrong. At least now Nico was _looking_ at him, but there was still something tense in the line of his jaw that made Jason want to get on his knees and apologize.

“We should head back to campus,” Nico said with a muted expression. “It’s getting late, and I’ve gotta finish my reading before class tomorrow.”

In a moment of desperation Jason grabbed Nico by the hand and pulled him close. The move seemed to catch Nico off guard, and before he could stop himself Jason started talking.

“We’re going out this Saturday,” Jason blurted. “Leo and I, and some other Americans. Come with us.”

“What?”

“It’s fun hanging out with you,” he added quickly. “Like I said earlier—we’re friends. I want you to come hang out with me and my other friends without the pretense of a study session.”

Nico looked like he couldn’t believe what was coming out of Jason’s mouth, and Jason felt himself becoming a bit flustered. He shuffled from foot to foot and fiddled with his belt a bit as he tried to recover from his sudden case of word vomit.

“I mean we don’t have to go to a night club. They don’t seem like your thing. We could just go to a pub or something—drink a few beers, chat for a while. We can even stay in Grünerløkka if that’s easier for you.” Still silence. “Though if you don’t want to go I totally get it. As you can probably tell from Leo my company is generally loud, and I know you like things on the more composed side. I’m sure everyone would like you, though, so don’t think you wouldn’t be wanted!”

Jason was finally saved from his misery by Nico, who just held up his hand and shook his head. Jason watched as Nico sighed, rubbed his forehead, took a deep breath, and then gave him a much nicer look. He wasn’t smiling or anything, but his expression was understanding.

“Thank you for the invitation. I’m… sorry if my behavior earlier made you think I was mad at you. I wasn’t.” Jason felt himself release a breath that was built up like steam in an engine. He hadn’t realized he’s been panicking until just now. “I’m just not a club person. It’s not that I don’t approve of it or anything, just hearing about you and everyone going out and having a good time right in my neighborhood made me… I duno…”

Jason had the feeling Nico had found the word he was looking for, but Nico waved a hand in front of his face and Jason didn’t want to offer anything and risk being terribly wrong. Instead he stood there, waiting patiently as Nico busied his hands with his coat buttons much the same way Jason was doing earlier.

“I’m going to reject your invitation, but I’m extending one of my own,” Nico said, finally seeming to calm down enough to settle his hands. “I don’t like clubs or bars or pubs, but I do like restaurants, and I am willing to do lunch with you and Leo… and maybe another person. You and Leo can decide. There’s a deli by my place that actually serves some descent antipasto, and if you want to eat there and hang out for a bit before going clubbing this Saturday I’d… like that.”

Jason wasn’t sure how things had turned around so fast, but he suddenly felt like he had too much energy and he couldn’t stop smiling. “That sounds great,” he agreed. “I’m sure Leo will be okay with it, too. I don’t know what antipasto is but I’ll eat it.

Nico scoffed. “Jason, we don’t have to go there. There are plenty of places to eat lunch.”

“No,” Jason said a bit too quickly. “Nope, you suggested it, I wana try it. Even if Leo doesn’t want to try it too bad. We’re gona have a great time.”

God, was he talking too fast? If he was, Nico wasn’t saying anything. Instead, he just smiled a barely-there smile and made his way to the bus. The whole ride back they made plans—or well, Jason made suggestions and Nico either agreed or explained why this or that wouldn’t work. In the end they agreed that they’d meet at two to enjoy a late lunch, then Nico would show them around, and depending on who was there they could freshen up at his apartment before heading out for the bars around five.

“Great! So just text me your address and—”

“I don’t have your number, Jason.”

Jason paused and looked down at Nico, surprised by the fact that he hadn’t already realized this. They were standing in front of the coffee shop, probably blocking the door, but Jason had to fish out a piece of paper right away so that he could scribble his Norwegian number, his Snapchat username, and his WhatsApp ID just to make sure Nico had all the necessary tools to get in contact with him if he needed to.

“That… covers the bases,” Nico said with a small smirk as he pulled out his phone and quickly entered the information. “Alright then. I’ll text you when I get home so you can have my number, too. For now, though, it’s study time.”

“Sure, I’ll get out of your hair,” Jason chuckled. He held the door open for Nico, but when he tried to follow him in Nico shooed him away. “Wait, don’t I need to buy you coffee?”

“You bought me an elevator ticket,” Nico said simply. “Paid is paid. Now go study for that MacroEcon test, because I don’t want you whining about your grade during our lunch.”

 

 

As soon as Jason got home he knew he had to go for a run. Sure, Nico told him he should study, but his whole body was itching and he felt like he was wired to blow. Jason didn’t even bother to check if Leo was in the apartment before stripping down and sorting through his drawers for some running clothes. He wanted to make a lap around campus, take a hot shower, and then thumb through his class notes while he waited for Nico to text him back. Had Jason been a more self-observant man, he might’ve realized how overly excited he was over such a simple afternoon.

Leo popped his head into Jason’s room as he was lacing his shoes. It took Jason a moment to realize he was there, but when Jason nearly ran into him trying to race out the door he gave a sheepish smile before planting himself firmly on the ground.

“Hey Leo!”

“Jason…” Leo regarded. His voice was cautious, like it was whenever Piper was getting ready to go out-out and they weren’t sure if she was excited to get ready or if she would snap at them. “Were you humming “Here Comes the Sun”?”

“Um… maybe?” Jason shrugged and began bouncing from foot to foot. “Didn’t notice. Oh, by the way! Nico invited us to lunch on Saturday. He lives in Grünerløkka. Said you could bring a friend.”

Leo’s expression went from cautious to slightly concerned in a ‘are-you-going-snap?’ kind of way. “Um… okay. When did you talk to Nico?”

“When I saw him this afternoon. We had coffee, then went sight-seeing for a couple hours.” Jason then froze and his eyes got wide like a silver dollar. “Don’t tell me you don’t wana go.”

“I never said that!” Leo said quickly. “Just…”

Then Leo began snickering. It was like he had realized the thing he’d been worried over was a giant joke and now he couldn’t stop laughing. Jason furrowed his brows and tilted his head like a confused puppy-dog at Leo’s giggle-coma, but then Leo gave him a full-on, sleazy smirk and wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulders.

“Going for a run, Jason?”

It was Jason’s turn to be concerned as he fought the urge to step away from his best friend. “Um… yes? Wana come?”

Leo shook his head and just pulled Jason closer. “And uh… could you be feeling the need for this run because you just got so excited after hanging out with Nico that you couldn’t help yourself?”

Jason felt his whole body get hot and he scowled at Leo. “Dude, what are you—?”

“Like how you went for a midnight jog the first time Piper kissed you after your second date?”

It finally clicked for Jason, and he shrugged Leo off as his friend burst into a fit of barely-contained laughs. God, Leo had been teasing him about Nico for weeks. It was like Jason could make one friend without Leo suggesting they hook up!

“Leo, you are the most immature—”

“Me, immature?” Leo asked through his chuckles. “You’re the one denying you have a crush on someone when you’ve got an obvious emotioner after setting a lunch date!”

Jason paused. “An emotioner?”

“An emotional boner,” Leo said, as if it was obvious and Jason was a third grader for not understanding. Jason just sighed in disgust and threw up his hands.

“First of all,” Jason began as he pointed at Leo, “I can’t believe you just suggest I’m less mature than you are after saying the word ‘emotioner’.” Leo just laughed more at that, and Jason felt his nostrils flair as he became increasingly more defensive. “Secondly, Nico is my friend who I’m trying to get to know better. I invited him to come party with us on Saturday, but he said it’s not his thing and suggested lunch instead. Is it so bad that I’m excited to hang out with the guy when we actually get along?”

It took Leo a couple seconds of deep breathing and holding in laughs before he was finally collected enough to put on a serious face. He leaned against the wall and regarded Jason with what looked like amusement, mischief, and a little bit of pity. Jason didn’t like this any better than he’d enjoyed being laughed at.

“Listen, I get that you’re reluctant to jump into a relationship after how things ended with Piper,” Leo said seriously. “You two were friends, you dated, you broke up, and now things are a little awkward. That’s okay. I’m not saying you have to date Nico.” Jason wanted to protest again, but Leo narrowed his eyes and Jason shut up. “All I’m saying is that it’s good for you to get all giddy over someone again. It’s been a long fucking time since I saw you this excited over something that’s not even technically a date.”

“But Leo, I’m not even into him like that!” Jason insisted. “I barely got him to admit we’re friends today. I think it’s a little too early to have a crush.”

Leo merely waved him off. “That’s what a lot of bisexuals say about their first same-sex crush."

"Leo, it's same gender. Piper has talked to you about this."

"Let me get my bit out first," Leo chided. Jason rolled his eyes and let him continue. "Anyways, society conditions you to recognize romantic feelings for the opposite sex, but then you have the same exact feelings for someone that shares your genitalia and your social conditioning tells you to chalk it up to friendship. It doesn’t help that you have a problem with befriending those that reject it most.”

"Okay one," Jason said, holding up a finger, "it's different gender, not opposite sex. Secondly, a guy doesn't need to have a penis."

"Jason Grace," Leo huffed, "we can bring this up with Piper and she can tell me about the gender thing again, but for now can you stop avoiding your issues and listen to me?"

Jason sighed and let himself fall back against the door. If he thought about it, Leo was right. There were way too many signs that pointed to him liking Nico romantically (even if there was no relationship interests for the time being). Right now, though, Jason didn’t want to think about it. He just wanted to run and then come home and wait by the phone.

Fuck, that sounded more love sick than he’d thought.

“Go for your run, Superman,” Leo suggested as he leaned down to pat Jason’s shoulder. “It’ll help you figure things out. I promise not to bring it up again until you want to talk about it.”

Jason just nodded and got up to go. Most of his energy from earlier was gone, though, so his run was much shorter and much less enjoyable than it should have been. It wasn’t that he was particularly upset at the thought of liking Nico, it was just that he didn’t want to ruin the fun of hanging out with him over the ever-present knowledge that he also wanted to maybe date him one day. Not to mention wondering whether or not Nico would like him back. As fun as Leo and Piper always said crushes were, Jason just found them to be stressful.

By the time Jason got back to the apartment Leo was already eating dinner and watching some Norwegian variety show he’d fallen in love with. Jason was exhausted. He didn’t want to talk or eat or try to figure things out, so he took his shower and told Leo he was going to bed before retreating to his room. Just as Jason was about to fall asleep, though, he noticed the little blue light on his phone was on, and he picked it up to see someone had left him a text.

 **+47 26 34 76 92  
** _Hey, it’s Nico._

And all of a sudden it was like the pressure that had been settled on Jason’s shoulders was gone. With thought of his worries from earlier momentarily forgotten, Jason quickly saved the number before writing a text back. It wasn’t until midnight that Nico finally told him he was going to sleep, and Jason didn’t realize just what kind of fucking goodnight message he’d sent until he closed his eyes.

 **Jason  
** _sleep tight! can’t wait to see you again_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for all the support on chapter one! The kudos, comments, bookmarks, and subscriptions were all really encouraging. Here is chapter two for you, I hope you enjoy. It's probably not as detail oriented as chapter one (given I spent a good three months on chapter one), but it's content driven!
> 
> A quick note on characterization. Nico may be more open and Jason may be more chipper-friendly than originally presented. I realize this, and it's mostly because they are both older and have grown up under different circumstances. I figured without the weight of war and constant threat of death on their shoulders, both men would be more open to others. Additionally, given they're in their early twenties rather than their teens, I also think their social skills would be better.


	3. The Dead Moms Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and Nico looked really nice. Usually, he wore an old t-shirt, some black jeans, and his aviator. Today, though, Nico was in a white button-up and a pair of blue jeans. His hair was also done differently—as though Nico ran a hand through it and achieved the impossible ‘disheveled gentleman’ look. It was so different and… vibrant. All Jason could think of were those Armani commercials where everyone looked so effortlessly beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For translations of the Italian, please hover over text.

Whenever Jason and Piper planned a date Jason knew he had to give Piper at least two hours to get ready. It was weird, because best-friend-Piper never cared about how she looked. She was more comfortable in a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt than she was fussing over her hair and make-up. That was part of what made Piper so attractive. Her beauty came from the inside-out.

Unfortunately, Piper also struggled with insecurity. It was especially bad wherever Jason was concerned. Their relationship had started as a blind date orchestrated by Leo, and because Piper had developed a crush first she initially felt like Jason had started dating her out of obligation. For the first few months they were happy, but it was obvious that Piper lacked confidence in the strength of Jason’s feelings for her. It took one long, painful talk and a promise for more openness between them before Piper understood that Jason wasn’t in it just because both she and Leo encouraged their romance. After that, the only behavior that remained from that time of insecurity was a compulsive need to primp before any big date.

Jason asked her about it once—after things had gotten really good between them. Piper admitted, while precariously drawing the wings of her eyeliner, that dates were the only time she felt pressured to look good. She was representing herself as Jason’s girlfriend, and she wanted to look as amazing as Jason made her feel. At time Jason just kissed her and assured her she didn’t need to think that way—completely ignorant of what it felt like to desire the right to seem worthy of someone’s company.

Maybe it was because his love for Piper had grown out of an attraction that hadn’t fully formed yet. Maybe it was because Piper never made _Jason_ feel insecure, even though it was clear that there was a line of guys ready to date her if things went south. Maybe, despite the fact that he loved her deeply, Jason knew it wasn’t the type of love he’d walk the earth for.

Whatever the reason, Jason could understand now what he hadn’t before.

“Hey, are we going to leave any time this century?”

Jason huffed and forced his hands away from his hair. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d used mousse (if there ever was a time), but right after he gotten dressed he’d looked in the mirror and felt like he didn’t look nearly as good as he should.

“We’re going to a deli, right?” Leo asked. He looked entirely too done with the situation for Jason’s liking. “You look like you’re going to one of your Mom’s luncheons by the harbor.”

“Leo, shut up,” Jason grumbled. “I’m done. Let’s go, okay?”

“Finally,” Leo sighed. “I thought the frat-douche fashion show would never end!”

Jason’s eyes shot wide as he turned back toward the mirror and started looking himself over. “Frat-douche? Leo are you fucking serious?”

“Doesn’t matter!” Leo said. He tugged at Jason’s collar and stole Jason’s phone. “If we don’t leave now I’m going to text Nico to say we can’t make it. Now, what’s a more embarrassing excuse? That you have diarrhea or that it burns when you pee?”

Jason felt like screaming in frustration—and maybe a little like punching that challenging look right off Leo’s face—but instead he grabbed his coat and scarf before walking to the door. “You’re like, the worst best friend ever.”

“Yeah yeah, Superman,” Leo drawled. “Tell that to Mark Antony.”

 

Things were tense at first, but after a couple minutes Jason started feeling bad for his almost-outburst. Sometimes—less often these days—Jason had a monster of a temper. He got it from his Dad. Jason wasn’t too proud of that. He stopped to apologize for what he said, but Leo had just waved it off, stating he understood why Jason  was so nervous. He’d made an unnecessary joke and it’d sent Jason’s nerves into over-drive. Jason didn’t feel like that excused his actions, but Leo assured him all was forgiven.

“You’ve got better things to come, Jason,” Leo said as he opened the library doors. “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Jason smiled at Leo’s understanding and nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry, man.”

Leo shot him a big, impish grin that was gone in a split second as Leo was shoved right into Jason’s chest.

“One o’clock, Valdez? Really?”

“We’re a little late,” Leo said, pushing off of Jason. “You don’t have to scream murder about it!”

“It’s almost one forty five! I’ve been waiting this whole damn time, and to think I even bothered to be early.”

Jason just sighed as Leo initiated a shouting match with his latest obsession—Calypso Atlas. Her father was the Greek ambassador to the United States. While she was perfectly lovely to almost everyone she met, Leo seemed to have the ability to press all her buttons and turn her from a diplomat’s daughter into a raging storm. Jason was surprised he was even able to convince her to join them for lunch, but he was glad she agreed either way.

“Jason,” Calypso said. Her face was all sweet-smiles, but the tone of her voice was still heated. “It’s good to see you.”

“Hi, Calypso. Sorry we’re late! That’s my fault, really.”

Calypso shook her head and looped her arm in Jason’s. “That’s fine, no worries,” she said. “Just remember in the future that it’s improper to make a young lady wait alone.”

“Um, excuse me? You were about ready to throw me down a flight of stairs because you though _I_ made us late,” Leo pointed out. “What the fuck kind of double standard is that?”

“Do you hear that, Jason?” Calypso asked as she led Jason out of the library. “I think I hear a mosquito buzzing.”

 

With all the distractions they almost missed the bus, but Jason was able to catch the driver’s attention right before he drove off and they made it to Grünerløkka in good time. Jason texted Nico right away, and Nico texted back directions to the restaurant.

“He says he already got us a table,” Jason said. “And he ordered some sparkling water. And—oh that’s funny.”

“Excuse him, he’s just fawning over his crush,” Leo jeered. Jason looked up from his phone to glare at his best friend. “You should see him at home. Glued to that thing more than a teenage girl.”

“Don’t make fun of him,” Calypso chided. “I think it’s very cute that you’re so attracted to Nico, Jason.”

“No, Calypso, not you too,” Jason groaned. “Trust me, it’s not... let’s just not talk about it, okay?”

For a moment Jason swore Leo and Calypso shared a look. Just a split second of the two of them exchanging a silent message that Jason was left out of. Then Leo winked, and Calypso rolled her eyes, and the moment was over. Jason chose to ignore it for the time being.

Soon Calypso spotted _Il Gusto Mediterraneo_ nestled between two fancy clothing boutiques. It was a narrow building painted light blue with white trimmings. A couple tables were set up in front as patio seating, though they were empty at this time of day. It was all very crisp and clean, but there were small personal touches—flower boxes in the windows, a well-used welcome mat by the entrance, and of course hanging from the second floor balcony was a giant Italian flag.

“Oh, it’s so cozy looking!” Calypso gushed.

The inside was even nicer than the front. Terracotta tiled floors, earthy brown stucco on the walls, and plenty of hanging plants gave the small space a very warm feeling. The hostess was a young, dark haired girl who spoke to them in very broken Norwegian before switching to broken English when she realized they were foreigners. She took them to a booth in the back where Nico was waiting, and they all exchanged hellos before Leo shoved Jason into the booth so that he was sitting right next to Nico.

“Nico, this place is darling,” Calypso said, sounding absolutely delighted as she picked up her menu. “I can’t remember the last time I had a good _kalamarakia_.”

“Mm, the _calamari_ here is actually my favorite,” Nico said. “The chef always seems to know just how long to cook it before it gets too rubbery.”

Jason smiled. He was glad that he’d thought to ask Calypso along. Initially it was just because he didn’t want Leo to feel like a third wheel, but it seemed like she and Nico had a lot more in common than Jason originally thought.

“So, what do you recommend?” Jason asked. The menu had a lot of options that Jason hadn’t heard of before. His stepmom usually picked French food or some high-end fusion bullshit, so beyond spaghetti and pizza Jason wasn’t really sure what Italian food was like.

“Well, this place specializes in southern food, so a lot of citrus and seafood. Though they do have the popular dishes, too.”

“Is there meat?” Leo asked. “I don’t care what I eat if I get to have meat.”

Nico smirked at Leo and nodded. “I know what to order, then. That is, if you trust me.”

Leo’s lip curled and he gave a little shudder before turning to Jason. “He’s creeping me out. Tell him to stop.”

“Leo, shut up,” Jason said pleasantly. “I think it’s a good idea for you to order for us, Nico. I’m game for anything.”

“Mmm, I wouldn’t mind seafood myself!” Calypso added. “Whatever dish you think is best, Nico.”

Nico nodded and waved over their waitress. She was a bit older than the hostess, but she had the same dark brown hair and olive tanned complexion. They might be sisters, Jason thought, and then he realized that this was probably a family restaurant.

“Yes, you can order?” she asked. Through her smile Jason could see the struggle she was having with English. Poor girl. Living in Norway, many people spoke English, but Norwegian was still dominant. It must be hard to not only be so far away from home, but also have to learn two new languages at the same time.

“ _Si, possiamo avere uno ordine di calamari fritti e uno ordine di antipasto, per favore_?”

Everyone at the table froze and stared at Nico with wide eyes. Jason was pretty sure his mouth was also hanging open. Nico, for his part, was just looking at the waitress patiently, though if Jason didn’t know any better he might say Nico was blushing. The waitress, who at first seemed startled, visibly relaxed and the smile on her face became more genuine.

“ _Si, certo. E per il primo piato_?”

Nico paused and looked over the group for a second before turning back to the waitress. “ _Hai i porzioni per tutto il grupo_?”

“ _Si_.”

“ _Allora, avremo un ordine di risotto ai frutta di mare. Per il secondo, i tortellini con prosciutto crudo_.”

“ _Nella zuppa o con marinara_?”

Nico bit his lip, and after a moment he nodded. “ _Con marinara, ma poi portare una ciotolina per me_?”

The waitress smiled and nodded as she wrote down their order. She seemed a lot more comfortable and hospitable now that she knew Nico spoke Italian. “ _Certamente, signore. Portar_ _ò_ _i vostri antipasti presto, e doppo il secondo possiamo trattare i dolci. Grazie_!”

“ _Grazie_ ,” Nico replied with a small nod.

Once the waitress was gone Jason opened his mouth to say something—a compliment maybe, or anything other than unintelligible gawking—when Leo suddenly grunted, “You brought us here just to show off, didn’t you?”

Jason glared at Leo, but Nico seemed amused by the accusation.

“The waitress I usually order with speaks better English, so I don’t really speak Italian when I come in.” Nico shrugged. “Either way, it’s not that impressive. I know for a fact you speak fluent Spanish.”

Leo scoffed and waved Nico off. “Speaking Spanish in America is no big deal. Italian, though?” Leo leaned over Jason and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I bet the girls love that trick.”

Oh fuck, Jason was going to punch him.

Nico smirked. “I wouldn’t know. Unlike some people, I have more than one thing on my mind.”

Jason’s face got hot as Leo looked up and winked at him. Fuck, could he be any more obvious? At this rate Nico was either going to think they were fucking with him or he was going to catch on.

“Right, so can we change the subject?” Thank God for Calypso. “Nico, what did you order?”

Jason took Calypso’s distraction to gather his nerves. He didn’t think he was going to be this much of a wreck, but with all of Leo’s teasing and meddling Jason wasn’t really in a position to be calm and collected. He barely understood his feelings to begin with, so it kind of felt like he was being thrown right into the fire.

Oh, and Nico looked really nice. Usually, he wore an old t-shirt, some black jeans, and his aviator. Today, though, Nico was in a white button-up and a pair of blue jeans. His hair was also done differently—as though Nico ran a hand through it and achieved the impossible ‘disheveled gentleman’ look. It was so different and… vibrant. All Jason could think of were those Armani commercials where everyone looked so effortlessly beautiful.

“Is that okay, Jason?”

Jason blinked and realized he’d been staring at Nico the whole time he was talking. That was kind of embarrassing, especially since he had no idea what Nico was talking _about_. Assuming it was food, he quickly nodded and flashed a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I trust your taste.”

“Too bad the same can’t be said about you, Jason,” Leo drawled.

Calypso smacked him on the arm before Jason could even form a retort.

They shared light conversation after that, talking about classes and upcoming midterms over appetizers. During the first course things got more personal: Majors, job plans, and their home universities. Nico was the only one on the west coast, and Calypso asked him all sorts of questions about California beaches and real Mexican food. Jason was glad everyone was interacting. He was afraid things might have ended up split between the two couples, but Calypso seemed to like Nico’s more reserved nature and Nico seemed like he was enjoying the conversation.

If anything, maybe they were getting along too well.

Woah… way too soon for those thoughts.

“ _Un ordine di tortellini con marinara per il grupo buffo_!” Jason heard the waitress shout. Their bowls of seafood rice (“ _Risotto_ ,” Nico told him.) were cleared and a large bowl of tiny, bellybutton shaped pastas covered in marinara sauce was set in the middle of the table.

“ _E per il ragazzino veneziano_ ,” she said with a small wink at Nico, “ _una ciotolina di tortellini nella zuppa_.”

Nico flushed, and Jason felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. His eyes narrowed on the waitress without him even realizing it, and the woman just chuckled and waved at him before walking back to the kitchen.

“Hey, are you sure this has meat in it?” Leo asked. Jason watched him shovel a large serving of pasta into his bowl and he sighed.

“Yes, inside there’s—”

“No wait, I taste it!” Leo said around a mouthful. “Pretty good. What kind of meat is it?”

“Prosciutto?” Calypso guessed. When Nico nodded she preened. “They’re delicious, Nico.”

“I’m glad I made such a popular choice,” Nico said. He then looked over at Jason expectantly, which distracted Jason for a moment until Leo pinched his arm under the table.

Jason quickly forked one of the small bellybutton pastas and took a bite. The sauce was like most marinaras he’d had before—acidic and just a little sweet—but the actual pasta was amazing. The way the dumpling was folded made the heat pop in his mouth. The meat inside was deliciously salty (he’d had prosciutto with the meat and cheese platter earlier, so he recognized the flavor), and the ratio between pasta and filling was perfect so he got a good taste of both in every chew.

“This is amazing,” Jason groaned. “So much better than spaghetti and meatballs.”

Nico smiled a smile that was small, but to Jason it lit up his whole face. In the background he could hear Leo and Calypso chattering, but he couldn’t bother to pay attention to that because Nico looked bright and handsome and Jason was transfixed.

The moment ended abruptly when Leo burped, sending Calypso into a fit of scolding complaints that had her flushing in embarrassment. Jason was probably flushing too, but hopefully if Nico noticed he’d think it was just because Leo ate like a barbarian.

As Calypso calmed down Jason snuck a peak at Nico and noticed he was eating something different.

“Is that the same thing?” Jason asked, pointing to the bowl of soup that seemed to have the same little pastas as they were eating.

“Oh, yeah,” Nico stuttered. “This is the way it’s traditionally served. I thought you guys might like it with the sauce, though.”

“May I try?” Jason asked.

Nico paused and blushed. Jason liked blushing Nico almost as much as he liked smiling Nico.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Jason took Nico’s spoon without thinking and tried some of the pasta with the soup. Without the pasta sauce the whole dish changed. It was heartier—warmer—and the chicken broth worked way better with the dumplings than the marinara sauce.

“I think I like this more,” Jason said with a laugh. “You kept the good stuff to yourself.”

Nico scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I was trying to keep your poor American taste-buds in mind.”

Jason laughed again, and the conversation carried pleasantly until the end of the meal. Once their plates were taken away Nico ordered them some espresso, and Jason was pleased to see how nicely lunch had turned out. Even Calypso and Leo were getting along civilly for once.

“So Nico, I forgot to ask, but what do your parents do?” Calypso asked with a small smile. She’d just been talking about a diplomacy meeting her father was having—always complaining to her that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “It’s not fair of me to keep talking about myself.”

“That’s alright,” Nico assured. “My family is pretty boring. My Dad runs an insurance company and my Stepmom is a florist.”

“And your Mom?” Leo asked.

Jason noticed that Nico suddenly got very tense. He was looking away from them now—eyes trained on his espresso shot like he was trying to keep himself under control. Jason understood that look.

“My Mother passed away when I was younger,” he said quietly.

The entire table went silent. Jason could tell Leo actually felt guilty for asking such a brash question, especially when he should know better.

“Sorry, man,” Leo sighed. “That was dumb of me.”

“No, it’s fine. It happened a long time ago.”

Though obviously, it wasn’t as fine as Nico played off. Jason exchanged a worried look with Calypso, who he was sure had never been trained for a moment like this. The air was thick, but then Leo said one of those stupid things he usually does and Jason wanted to hit him for maybe the third time that day.

“Well,” he began in a light tone, “Jason and my Mom are dead too, so welcome to the Dead Moms Club!”

It was lucky for Leo that Nico actually laughed. It was lucky for Leo that Nico’s laugh was so uncensored—so clear, loud, and vulnerable—that Jason forgot why he was mad in the first place.

 

When lunch was over—after arguing with Nico for about fifteen minutes over who would pay the bill—the small group found themselves wandering the streets of Grünerløkka full and happy. It was nearing four thirty and the place was bustling with people either hurrying home or meeting friends for Saturday night plans. Jason loved how lively this part of Oslo was. It could be a rather sleepy city sometimes, but in the right neighborhood the fun really picked up.

“So, I know you guys are going out tonight,” Nico said as they approached a small park. “Do you want to come over to my place and freshen up or something?”

The offer was extended with an awkward hesitance, but Jason was proud of Nico for putting himself out there. It seemed that, after weeks of group study and a pleasant afternoon lunch, Nico trusted Leo and Calypso enough to invite them into his home. And Jason, of course, but Jason liked to think he’d had Nico’s blessing for a while.

“Sure, that sounds cool,” Leo agreed. “We can party before the party! Get a little tipsy before going out to get smashed. Calypso, you in?”

Calypso didn’t respond. She was staring at her phone with a worried look on her face, and when she noticed everyone had stopped talking she looked up and offered an apologetic smile.

“I’m so sorry, but I need to go home. My roommate just texted me saying our water heater is leaking and our apartment is flooding. She says someone can’t get there for another two hours, and I’ve gotta go help her save our furniture.”

“Did a pipe break?” Leo asked, looking more serious now than he had all day. Ah, there was the engineer hidden under raunchy jokes and impish grins. Jason sometimes forgot his best friend was almost a genius when it came to machines.

“Um… I don’t think so?” she said. “Why?”

“Let me look at it,” Leo insisted. “I’ve dealt with this before and it’s usually an easier fix than you think.”

Calypso looked incredibly skeptical, but Jason figured the worry over her apartment outweighed her general disapproval of Leo and she agreed to let him come along.

“Cool, we’ll take a taxi to get there quick.” Leo turned to Jason and Nico and offered a shrug and a grin. “Sorry we can’t join you. Jay, if I get this figured out quick I’ll text you and meet up, but go ahead without me. The others will still be at the club.”

“Yeah sure, just get it fixed,” Jason replied. “Good luck, you guys. I hope everything gets figured out!”

With that Leo and Calypso ran toward the main road, leaving Nico and Jason alone in front of the park. The sun was already setting, making the sky glow with pink light even as the air became painfully cold around them. Nico didn’t have much more than his button-up on, and Jason contemplated offering his coat.

“Would you still like to come over?” Nico asked.

Jason grinned. “Lead the way.”

 

Nico’s apartment was the epitome of old, cozy, and charming. Renovations had obviously been made, since the walls were dry-walled and painted blue and the kitchen cabinets were all new, but Jason could still see age in the place. The hardwood was worn, the wooden ceiling beams were still exposed, the windows were small to keep heat in, and an old, cast iron fireplace sat against the wall to provide warmth in a time before the old studio apartment had heating. It was homey, and Nico’s choice of furniture was also surprisingly domestic. His kitchen was accented with yellow appliances (damn that was cute), and the transition into the living room was seamless with a small table for two pushed against the back of a comfy looking loveseat. The entertainment space wasn’t much besides a TV stand with books jammed in the cubby holes, an armchair to match the sofa, and an old record player. While Jason had expected books, he would have never guessed at the sheer amount of vinyls lining the shelves alongside them. Behind the TV was a room divider, and Jason guessed the small pocket of space that was hidden was Nico’s ‘bedroom’. He couldn’t help but be a little curious about what it looked like.

“Your place is really nice,” Jason muttered, a little distracted by the quaintness of it all.

Nico snorted. “What were you expecting, a mattress on the floor and stacks of books?”

“What? No!” Jason flushed. “I just didn’t expect so many… bright colors.”

Nico toed off his shoes and grabbed a sweater from a hook on the wall by the door before motioning for Jason to do the same. “It came furnished. The only things I own are the things that could fit in my suitcase, plus my record player.”

Jason followed Nico to sit on the couch and he sighed happily. “Well, I think it suits you,” he said. “You dress all dark and brooding, but I could imagine you baking cookies with a yellow Kitchen Aid.”

“Shut up, Grace,” Nico laughed.

Jason smiled. He was at Nico’s apartment, sitting on Nico’s couch, listening to Nico laugh. Maybe-crush or not, this felt like a pretty good step considering how cautious Nico had been around him when they first met.

“So, are you going to play me some music?” Jason asked.

“Um…” Nico furrowed his brows. “My taste in music isn’t very ‘now’.”

“I’ve seen vinyl before, Nico,” Jason assured. “I know the usual suspects: 80s rock bands and the Beatles.”

Nico shook his head. “Wow, that’s so wrong I don’t even think you know me.”

“Oh? Then show me.”

Nico sighed, but got up and walked over to the TV stand. He filed through some of the records before he paused, examined the cover of one, and then nodded. As Nico set things up Jason began walking around the apartment, taking the time to gaze over the personal touches Nico made. One wall in particular was covered in pictures. Some were at college, where Nico looked more begrudging than anything in a group of eager students. Then there were a few of Nico with his Dad, if that tall, intimidating man standing at least two inches away in every photo was Nico’s father. The majority of them, though, were of Nico and a girl with pretty, curly hair and dark skin. Jason noticed how comfortable she seemed being touchy with Nico in the photos, and how Nico looked perfectly comfortable with the contact. Jason felt a small swell in his chest at the thought of her being so cozy with Nico, but it was more out of jealousy for her permitted closeness than anything.

Only two pictures seemed to be out of place. One was old and falling apart around the edges. In the picture, a little boy and little girl were playing with trading cards in their pajamas by a Christmas tree. Jason had to think really hard over it before he decided that this was probably Nico as a kid. He looked so damn different, though. He was actually pretty tan, and there were no bags under his eyes, which made him look much more lively than he did now. Who the little girl was Jason wasn’t sure, but she looked so much like Nico that Jason could only guess.

The second picture was also old, but it was in perfect condition. It was a portrait of a woman with long, dark hair and a smile on her face that seemed to radiate passion and energy. The photo was colored like it came from the sixties, but the woman’s hair and clothes were so simple that she looked timeless. She was beautiful, and she was the spitting image of Nico and the little girl from the other photo.

“I thought you wanted to listen to music, not check out pictures of my Mom.”

Jason turned to Nico and smiled. “Your Mom is really pretty, Nico.

Nico stared at the picture and looked torn between a smile and a frown. “She was,” he said. “People say I look just like her, but I think Bianca looked more like Mom than I did.”

Jason pointed to the little girl in the other picture. “Your sister?”

Nico’s brows twitched inward for a split second, as though he were suppressing a reaction that he didn’t want Jason to see. Jason stepped forward to offer Nico a reassuring touch, but Nico just turned and walked back to the record player, where the album had already started playing. Jason hadn’t noticed before.

The air was tense much like it had been at lunch earlier that day. Whatever happened to Nico’s family, it was obvious that Nico wasn’t used to talking about it. Jason had run into that before. He once acted up and his stepmom, thinking it had to do with his mother, sent him to group grief counseling. Some of the kids had a hard time getting through a session without crying, but others would just hole themselves up until they could finally get away. Those ones never really made much progress.

“My Mom passed away when I was nine.”

Nico looked over his shoulder at Jason, eyebrows furrowed suspiciously. Jason walked over to the sofa and sat down. He sighed, leaned back to stare at the ceiling, and shrugged.

“I’d been away at boarding school, and because of how custody went when I was a baby I didn’t even see her after I was two. So, when my sister came to get me from the school, I didn’t really understand who ‘Mom’ was.” He’d been put in the boarding school since he was old enough to walk and talk, and while his stepmom regularly wrote him she never bothered to mention the fact that she wasn’t his biological mother. She also conveniently left out his sister.

“That whole conversation is kind of a blur, since I found out I had another Mom, a sister, and that I was leaving the school in all of, like, fifteen minutes. When I got back to my Dad’s place my stepmom picked up like it was all normal, and we didn’t discuss my Mom or boarding school or the fact that Thalia was moving in at all. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I finally asked my sister about our real Mom.

Turns out she was a former pop star my Dad had an affair with in the eighties. My stepmom hated her and thought she was a horrible woman, and I think that’s the only thing she and my sister agree on. Apparently, when Dad didn’t end up leaving my stepmom after Mom had me, she kind of went off the deep end. Started drinking a lot and became neglectful. That’s how she gave up custody of me. Thalia stayed with her. I guess after a while she just kind of… gave up completely. One night she got really wasted and went out for a drive.” He held his hands up in front of his face and made a tiny explosion gesture. “That’s how she died.”

Jason looked over at Nico. He meant to smile, but the corners of his mouth faltered. “Sometimes I feel like it doesn’t bother me like it should,” Jason admitted. “I barely knew her, so I guess that’s only to be expected. But other times… I think of her and it’s almost overwhelming.”

An odd silence drifted between them that was filled only by the scratchy melody playing in the background. The last song faded out, [and the needle moved down to the next](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW85lWpbrZM). Nico walked over to the armchair and took a seat without looking at Jason. He pulled his knees up to his chest and closed his eyes. Jason watched, waiting, as the record player serenaded them with melancholy, foreign sounds.

“I was six,” Nico started. “Dad had just brought us to the States, and since his company was still young my Mom decided to get a part-time job to help with the bills. My Dad had an old friend from college—a former frat brother—who owned a hotel chain, and my Mom worked as a cleaning lady. Bianca and I didn’t like that she had to work, since in Italy she’d been able to stay home with us every day, but she insisted that things could be better later if she and Dad worked their hardest now.”

Nico paused. Jason watched him breath in a steady, controlled rhythm for a couple minutes. He still hadn’t opened his eyes, but Jason figured that memories from so long ago must be hard to bring back.

“She was getting ready to leave for the night and it was storming pretty hard. My Dad told her he’d pick her up, so she agreed to wait in the hotel instead of walking to the bus like she usually did. Apparently, there was a lightning strike and something… a tree, a telephone pole—I don’t know—fell into the side of the hotel. Dad was driving up when it happened and he said the whole thing just… collapsed.”

Nico took another deep breath, but this time on the exhale he trembled. Jason could see him closing in on himself, like he was scratching at a wound that had been stitched up all sloppy and scarred rough. Jason quickly got off the couch and moved to kneel in front of Nico. He cautiously reached out to hold Nico’s hands, and Nico’s eyes immediately flew open, but besides a small flinch he didn’t move away.

“There was an investigation afterwards, and old permits showed that the city had declared the building unsafe. But, because my Dad’s friend is loaded, he paid officials to keep the place open while he just kept… postponing repairs. But he _knew_! He knew, and he _still_ let my Mom work there.” Jason could see rage bubbling just under the surface. Nico was shaking, pupils dilated and jaw clenched tight when he wasn’t hissing out his story. “You know what that bastard had to sacrifice in the end? Two million. Six people died. Six people, who had families and kids, but that rich son of a whore got out paying what he probably considers pocked change for _getting my Mom **killed**_!”

“Nico,” Jason said, his voice hushed and urgent, “you don’t have to keep going. I’m sorry I made you talk about it.”

Nico shook his head. “I haven’t. I haven’t talked about her in years.” He gripped Jason’s hands tight and his face twisted, like he didn’t know whether to scream, or cry, or both. “You say you think of your Mom even though you didn’t know her, but I _adored_ my mother. She was the most amazing woman in the world, and now I can barely stand _remembering_ her. What kind of son _am I_?”

Jason couldn’t imagine. Their situations were so different, and there was still so much about Nico that Jason didn’t know. He was afraid to offer any words of comfort on the chance that he might open another buried wound. Nico seemed like someone who had a lot of those.

“Hey,” he finally whispered. “I’m going to hug you. Tell me if that’s not okay.”

Nico didn’t say anything. Jason wasn’t sure if that’s because he was fine with it or because he was having a breakdown, but he slipped his hands free and carefully pulled Nico into his arms. It was awkward, since Nico was balled up on the armchair and Jason was on his knees on the floor in front of him, but Jason was always better at expressing himself physically. After a few moments Nico finally relaxed and rested his head against Jason’s shoulder. They stayed like that—no crying or talking or moving—until the last song on the record player ended and the room fell into silence.

“I don’t typically like to do that,” Nico murmured when he pulled away. “The whole… gushing emotions thing. It’s not my style.”

“I know,” Jason said. “But I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to let it happen. It’s not good to bottle things up.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Then, after a second, “Thank you.”

Jason smiled softly and nodded back. He moved out of Nico’s personal space, figuring the moment for physical closeness had passed. Jason liked being able to touch Nico familiarly, but that desire wasn’t going to come at the expense of Nico’s comfort.

“So… you have to leave soon?” Nico asked.

Jason frowned as he remembered his plans for the night. He’d been pretty wrapped up in Nico-Land, so thinking of hanging out with a group of other people was unappealing. Still, Nico looked exhausted and Jason didn’t want to overstay his welcome.

“It there somewhere I can freshen up?”

“That door in the kitchen that looks like a pantry,” Nico said, pointing it out. “That’s the bathroom. Feel free to use whatever.”

“Thanks.”

In between washing his face and fixing his clothes Jason thought about Nico. Nico was reserved—his trust was hard-earned and he didn’t like to open himself up to people who were flighty. Jason didn’t really mind. Friendships were work, and if Jason was right then he had already dug past some pretty shitty former friendships to get to the point he was at now. He couldn’t help but feel like there was still more to prove, though. He wanted to be close to Nico (selfishly, he wanted to be the closest), and that would take time.

When Jason came out of the bathroom Nico was reading on the couch. Nico looked up, closed his book, and followed Jason to the door where his shoes were.

“Thanks for having me over,” Jason said with a smile. “And for lunch. Today was a pretty good day, huh?”

“Besides some hiccups in the road, I’ll agree,” Nico replied. He was smiling again, and Jason’s stomach flipped happily at the sight. “If you get too drunk tonight don’t be afraid to call me. I don’t want the one good friend I’ve made here to freeze to death on a park bench.”

Jason blinked, and then his smile got so wide his cheeks hurt. “Did you just admit we’re friends?” he asked.

Nico seemed caught off-guard by the question. He flushed and, for a moment, looked away from Jason bashfully. Then he shook his head and rolled his eyes. Jason laughed.

“After today?” Nico said, voice deadpan. “Yes, I admit we’re friends.”

 

By the end of the night Jason was barely able to stumble into his apartment with Leo’s help. He’d been in a great mood when they hit the bars, and by the time Leo got there Jason was already drunk on life (and six shots of tequila). They’d been able to sober him up enough to get on the bus, but Jason was definitely intoxicated as he collapsed onto their couch and kicked his shoes across the room.

“Jesus, watch it Jason!” Leo shouted as a boot flew right past his head.

Jason giggled and propped himself up on his elbows. “Whoops! Sorry, Leo, my aim ain’t the best tonight.”

Leo rolled his eyes and moved Jason’s legs over so he could sit. Jason smiled at him—or rather, he grinned like a big, drunk idiot.

“I take it your private time with Nico went well?” Leo asked.

Jason snorted. “When do I _not_ like hanging out with him?” Jason exclaimed—loudly. “He’s so fucking cool, man. Like, he may seem sarcastic and shit but… well he is, but there’s a lot more to him than that.”

“Uh huh?” Leo was smirking. “Do tell.”

“Like, his apartment is cute. Says that the furniture is the owners, but man seeing him in such a cute apartment made him look so cute,” Jason rambled. “And he was so cool today, speaking Italian and ordering good food. But then he gets shy when you’re like… super genuine with a compliment, even though he’ll cut you to shreds when you joke with him. And Leo,” Jason gasped, “he told me ‘bout his Mom. Fuck, poor Nico. He was so sad and angry, and he let me hug him—”

“Woah, dude, you made a move while he was talking about his dead Mom?” Leo asked in shock.

Jason gasped again, though this time he sounded highly offended. “Leo, I would **_never_**!” He tried to kick Leo in the face but he missed so bad he ended up throwing one leg over the back of the couch. “ Never ever would I try to do something so… so rude when someone is hurting. I… I just wanted to hold him and make him feel better.”

“I’m sure you did, Jason.” For once, Leo didn’t sound like he was teasing.

Jason hummed and flopped onto his back again. His vision was swimming, but that was alright because he was in a pretty good mood tonight. “You know… I don’t even know if he likes guys or whatever, but I like Nico. I _really_ like him. I just want him to be happy.”

“Then why not ask him out?” Leo asked. “He doesn’t strike me as the type to be super weird about people telling them they’re into him.”

“No, I don’t need to do that,” Jason slurred. “You know… sometimes you like someone, and you don’t need much else. I just want to be allowed to spend lots of time with him and make him smile. Maybe one day it’ll hurt not to be his boyfriend or whatever, but right now I’m just glad he admitted we’re friends. So… until that hurt day I think I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself,” Leo sighed. He took Jason’s boots and tossed them over to the front door, then took a blanket off the couch and covered Jason in a rare show of affection. “But for what it’s worth, I’m glad Calypso and I ditched your date. She’ll be happy to know it worked out so well. You owe me, big guy.”

Jason smiled and waved at Leo as he walked to his bedroom. “Mm… night Leo! Love you!”

“Yeah yeah, you giant idiot. Sleep tight.”

The hall lights went out and Jason was left only with the glow of the city outside the window. He smiled, his whole being feeling warm and happy as he stewed in his drunken haze. Right as he was about to fall asleep, though, something hit him.

“Wait… Leo, what did you say about you and Calypso?!”

“Go to sleep, Jason!”

Maybe he should ask in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. School is starting soon for me and work was winding down, so I was busy getting everything in order while figuring out how to make this chapter work. But, it's out! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and thanks for all the lovely comments on chapter 2! I promise chapter 4 will be out sooner.
> 
> In addition, I've been creating a soundtrack for the fanfic! I'll have one or two songs per chapter, so when you see a link in text feel free to click on it and listen for added atmosphere. I've included two songs in chapters 1 and 2, as well. Thanks for all the comments and kudos! See you soon!


	4. No Time for Pagan Love Songs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a moment the two just sat there listening to the music that occasionally carried in from the other room. Around them people were having fun—talking, drinking, making out—but Jason thought this was fun, too. Nico’s company was fun, if only for the fact that it made him so happy.

“Hey, y’know what’s coming up?”

Jason grunted in response. He was finishing a paper for one of his political science midterms and it was running close to the deadline. If he could just find two or three more support articles he might have a nice cushion for finals.

“Halloween. That’s what’s coming up,” Leo clarified. “Which means girls, in skimpy outfits, drinking lots of alcohol.”

Leo sounded positively giddy at the prospect of all that eye-candy lined in front of him with impaired judgment. Had they been back at NYU Jason might have scolded him for acting like such a morally bankrupt human being (if Piper didn’t do it for him), but now Jason felt like Leo was leaving out the truth.

“You mean,” Jason said, as he thumbed through his text book looking for a source, “you can’t wait to slip Calypso martinis while you ogle her to the point of discomfort, hoping that maybe if she’s drunk enough and you kick up the charm she might be willing to hook up with you.”

Jason finally looked at Leo to find his friend pouting at him. Of course Jason was right. Leo liked to pretend to be a restless spirit, but they both knew that he desperately wanted a steady girlfriend. Someone who he could trust—someone he didn’t want to run away from.

“Ignoring your _rude_ comment,” Leo huffed. His demeanor then change and he flashed Jason a smile. “Are you gona pay me back and be my wingman?”

“I duno, man,” Jason sighed. He turned back to his laptop and began hammering out another paragraph. “I mean, isn’t Halloween not even a thing over here?”

“It’s not,” Leo said, “but that’s not gona stop us Americans from throwing a rager! The Stoll brothers have already started inviting people on facebook.”

“Okay, so everyone is getting trashed at their apartment,” Jason said as he added his new source to his works cited. “Do you even have a costume? Because I don’t.”

“Dude no sweat! We can just do what the girls do—walk in shirtless with a tiny theme piece and say that’s our costume. If I wrap a bed sheet around myself and make a halo out of aluminum foil I can pass as an angel.”

Jason snorted. “Leo, you could never pass as an angel.”

“Wow, Jay,” Leo scoffed. “Two rude comments in one night. I’m surprised by your behavior, young man!”

Jason just rolled his eyes and focused on his conclusion paragraph. Halloween was a week away, and he had two more midterms to get through before he could relax. Maybe after that Jason could think about costume parties.

“Oh, and Jason?”

Jason sighed and stopped, once again, to look at Leo. “Yes, Leo?”

“Calypso said she’s going to bring Nico.”

With that Leo walked off to the kitchen, leaving Jason staring after him with wide eyes.

 

Despite Leo’s clear attempt to _sabotage_ him right before his paper deadline, Jason was able to get it in and breeze past one other midterm without think about Nico and Halloween in the same stream of thought. Now, only one economics test stood between Jason and a night of drunken celebration (and fuck did he need it). Fortunately or unfortunately, however, Nico had offered they study together in the library and Jason had accepted without realizing he was in no way productive when around his crush.

“You’ve been reading that page for twenty minutes,” Nico pointed out. It looked like he’d just finished compiling his sources for one of his papers in Classics and was now moving on to reviewing a list of psychological studies he needed for a midterm. “Care to share your worries?”

“Does hating everything about your major and minor count as a worry?” Jason asked. His voice was drier than the Atacama, and probably just as humorous.

Nico set his papers aside for a moment and folded his arms on the table, making sure Jason knew he was giving him his full attention. “I may not be a registered psychologist yet, but I’m pretty sure hating your major is key to hating your future career, which leads most people to hating their lives.” Nico paused. “Next to hating their spouses.”

Jason sighed and practically deflated onto his textbook. “I know, I know. But my Dad wants me to take over his company—or well, one of them—and my stepmom wants me to be President. They practically chose PoliSci and Econ for me.”

“Which is something micromanaging control freaks who want puppets instead of children do,” Nico supplied. “But I’m not going to diagnose your whole family.”

Jason smiled at Nico, cheek still pressed against the pages of _Modern Labor Economics_. “I think I like you better sane, so please don’t.”

Nico just snorted and turned back to his studies. Jason indulged for a moment and watched him. When Nico studied, he had a different face for Psychology than he did for Classics. Nico was serious about becoming a psychologist, so when he went over case studies or research papers his brows always furrowed into a hard line and one hand would always be occupied by a highlighter or pen. With Classics, though, Nico looked more like that nonchalant, hot douche you expected to see smoking a cigarette while musing over Camus. He’d lean over the book very casually, with maybe his chin resting on his hand, and one fucking eyebrow was always tweaked in a perfect angle. Kind of like Nico was saying, ‘Really, book? This is all you have to tell me?’ Nico’s Psychology expression might have made Jason all warm inside, but Nico’s Classics expression made Jason’s stomach flip.

Nico turned the page, and Jason quietly cleared his throat to rid his mind of any naughty thoughts. He was fucking around while Nico was studying, so he might as well behave. Nico looked really concentrated, too. His eyes were slowly scanning each line of text and fixating on every graph as he went over the page.

Jason had noticed a while back that Nico wasn’t the fastest reader. They’d been going through a news article on Jason’s laptop and Nico would huff every time Jason scrolled down. It wasn’t until Jason asked him what was wrong that Nico admitted he read slow. It wasn’t a handicap, though. Nico could retain information like no-one’s business, so even if it took him longer to study he could still set a curve if he wanted. When he cared about the subject, though, it was particularly agonizing for him to get through an assigned reading.

“What’s the report on?” Jason asked, trying to keep his voice low for Nico’s sake.

Nico took a moment to finish whatever paragraph he was on before glancing over at Jason. “I’m reading a rebuttal to an article that basically claimed black kids will never be smarter than white kids.”

Jason immediately bolted upright in his chair. “That sounds like a stupid article,” he shouted, only to be shushed by the people two tables down. Jason sheepishly held his hands up in apology and scooted his chair closer to Nico. “How the hell does something like that get published?”

“Connections, mostly,” Nico sighed. “But he had some pseudo-science to back it up. He tested the IQs of black kids in head start programs against those that weren’t, then stated that since the IQs were close to the same intelligence is about 80% genetic. Which, at first glance, has no racial suggestions beyond the effectiveness of the head start program, but once you get into the real implications of the findings you start to see a whole lot of racist bullshit.”

Nico sounded particularly scathing about that last part, and for a moment Jason thought back to the pictures on Nico’s wall of him and the girl with curly hair and dark skin. He remembered how close they seemed—how comfortable Nico looked around her and how happy she seemed around Nico—and Jason understood his anger.

“Okay, but what happened? The rebuttal—how does it shut this guy down?”

Nico smirked before pushing the paper toward him. “It points out how his reliance on the IQ test is flawed, since IQ is a meager measure of intelligence at best, before railing into him about the shoddy ethics of his study.”

“Awesome,” Jason chuckled as he thumbed through the report. “Show that asshole what’s-what.”

Nico hummed noncommittally before stopping Jason at a certain page. “Here it also outlines the benefits that these early start programs have on the futures of the kids who take them,” he added. “The progress these kids made later in life completely contradict what the results of this guy’s study show.”

Jason nodded and skimmed the page, trying not to get too invested in case he was hampering Nico’s studying. This was so much better than political science. Talking about people and their needs just seemed a million times more genuine than talking about demographics and the intricacies of a filibuster. Sure politics was a more impactful way of affecting the resources people had access to, but it was dirty. Jason was more interested in helping directly.

“You know, if you like this kind of stuff there are a few more research articles I can give you,” Nico offered. “And you can hold onto that one. It was my class copy, but I’ve got all the notes down.”

“Really?” Jason asked. “Well, maybe after midterms. But… yeah, I think I’d really like to read some of these psychology papers you’re always so wrapped up in.”

Nico shook his head. “No, you don’t want to read the real psychology papers—too much terminology for someone not in the major—but I think you’d like some of the studies done by sociologists.”

“Sociology, huh?” Jason had one sociology class back at NYU. The professor had been a washed out dinosaur and the course material was more like statistics than anything else. He hadn’t liked it, but if Nico had stuff that was more his speed then Jason was willing to try. “Okay, I’ll trust your judgment.”

“Better now than when I start charging three hundred an hour,” Nico quipped.

Jason smirked. “You wouldn’t charge me.”

Nico levelled Jason with a dry look, but he seemed to decide the sarcasm wasn’t worth the study time and just shrugged before going back to his papers. Jason’s smirk tuned itself down to a smile and he rested his head back on the desk. Hopefully he’d somehow be able to absorb the information in his textbook via osmosis.

Instead, Jason fell alseep. Exams always took a pretty heavy toll on him. His sleep deprivation was only made worse by the fact that Leo was somehow able to study, ace his midterms, and maintain an eight-hour-a-night sleeping schedule, which Jason would look upon enviously during his three am cram sessions. As expect, his rest was shallow and he had abstract dreams that left him unsettled. Naps always invoked that kind of frustrating restlessness, and Jason would have been a grumpy mess if not for the fact that when he woke up Nico was mere inches away.

“Hey, if you need to go back to your apartment you should,” Nico whispered as Jason sat up. “I can walk you home if you want?”

“No, no I’m okay,” Jason insisted. He stretched and opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a yawn. Jason tried to stifle it. It didn’t work.

“Come on. Pack up your stuff.”

Jason sighed but didn’t protest. Nico was looking out for him, and he knew that if he didn’t get to bed at a descent hour he’d end up sleeping through his test.

 

It was already dark when they walked out of the library. The sun set sooner in Norway—fall or not—but it was odd adjusting to the fact that the moon had risen and it was only five o’clock. The university was well lit, though, so there was never a worry about being able to get home okay. In fact, Jason kind of liked leaving the library when it was dark. Especially if Nico was with him. For whatever reason Nico seemed to glow at night. Not literally, of course, but something about the way he carried himself became stronger when the shadows were near him.

“You keep staring at me,” Nico quipped. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his aviator and Jason wondered if they were cold. “Are you looking for something?”

Jason looked away and felt his face grow warm. He’d decided he was happy with the current state of his relationship with Nico, and that hadn’t been a lie. However, if Nico found out about his little crush things would get complicated. The last thing Jason wanted was for things to be weird, especially when he was just getting used to having Nico’s trust.

So he avoided the topic altogether.

“Are you going to the Halloween party?” Jason asked.

Nico snorted. “You mean the drunken costume party where I might be able to find a piece of candy between the couch cushions?”

“That’s the one!”

Jason laughed, and Nico just shook his head and smiled. “I wasn’t going to originally. The thought of going to a house party right after midterms is exhausting, but then Calypso called and asked me to be her companion for the night.”

“You two have become pretty close,” Jason observed. “Are you there as her date?”

He was trying hard to hide the fact that he was ragingly jealous at the concept  of Nico and Calypso going as a pair. He already knew Calypso had been in on the plot to get he and Nico alone together the other night, but that didn’t change the fact that she and Nico got along well.

“No, God no,” Nico scoffed. “In her words, I’m there to ‘ensure Valdez doesn’t drool all over her costume’. So I’m like the cock block.”

“That puts me in an awkward position,” Jason sighed, “because I’m supposed to be Leo’s wingman.”

Nico turned toward Jason, a playful smirk on his lips, and simply said, “Oh?”

Jason shivered—whether from cold or the way Nico looked while saying one fucking word he wasn’t sure—and felt like reaching out to hold Nico’s hand.

“Yup,” he said instead, “looks like we’re going to be fighting on opposite sides of the Halloween wars.”

Nico chuckled, and Jason looked up at the sky to prevent himself from saying something he’d end up regretting. Having a secret crush was a lot harder than he expected. He’d have to call Piper and apologize for his idiotic obliviousness during freshman year.

Sooner than he’d prefer they arrived at Jason’s apartment. They wished one another good luck on their midterms, and Jason watched Nico until he disappeared around the corner and into the shadows.

 

After that the days seemed to pass by in a blur of classes and studying. On the day of his last midterm he was confident he’d at least passed, and as soon as he’d come home from the test Jason slept for twelve hours straight. When he woke up he was able to go for a run and catch up on some work that had been set aside for midterms, and when homework was done for the following week he was finally ready to get excited for Halloween.

“So, did you figure out the costume issue?” Jason asked as Leo stumbled through the front door with an armful of black trash bags.

“Fuck right I did,” Leo snickered. He moved into the living room and dumped his stash on the couch. “So I had to ask around, but I was able to get some pretty legit stuff.”

Jason watched Leo pick through the bags, pulling out pants and wings and different hats. Jason was pretty skeptical of some of the stuff, but he couldn’t deny a child-like excitement at seeing all these costumes spilling out of what looked like Jack Skellington’s Halloween Sack.

“Okay so, as the Latino tornado, I naturally decided on…” Leo pulled out a giant sombrero and a pair of what looked like tight flamenco pants. “Sexy mariachi sugar skull!”

Jason narrowed his eyes dubiously. “Isn’t Day of the Dead a sacred holiday? Wouldn’t your Mom like, I duno, come out of her grave to chide you about defacing your traditions in the name of flirting?”

Leo furrowed his brows and pouted as he threw a length of white fabric at Jason’s face. “First of all, yes, _D_ _ìa de los Muertos_ is sacred in Mexico. I plan to go to Church on the first and pay my rightful respects like I should.” Then Leo’s shit-eating grin was back, and he held up a bright pink make-up kit. “ _But_ , I’m totally American and for tonight I’m going to work the cultural ignorance of a group of white kids to my advantage.”

“Where did you get that?” Jason asked, motioning to the kit.

“The Stoll Brothers,” Leo said. “Apparently they have it on hand for pranks, so they’re letting me borrow it to do sick sugar skull make-up.”

Jason walked over to Leo to look through the make-up kit. It was actually pretty professional from what he could tell, with specialty brushes and prosthetics. More for special effects than for beauty.

“Do you even know how to apply this stuff?” Jason asked.

Leo scoffed and grabbed the kit back to set it on the kitchen table. “I had to hand paint decals on cars through high school to make enough money for NYU. You think I can’t paint a face?” His expression then turned somber as he went back to sorting through costumes, albeit at a much more subdued pace. “Besides, my Mom always had me do her make-up when we went to pay respects to abuelo and abuela. It’s been a long time, but I think she’ll help me out.”

Jason didn’t say anything. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulder and pulled him to his side for a hug. They were silent for a moment before Jason pulled away to dig through the bag himself.

“So, what am I going to wear?”

Jason saw Leo perk up as he pulled a war helmet and what looked like a red skirt with leather pleats out of the bag. “You, my friend, are going to be a Roman soldier!”

“No.”

“Yes,” Leo insisted with a devious smile. “You’re going to be a _sexy_ Roman soldier. A sexy, _shirtless_ Roman soldier.”

“Leo this is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had,” Jason said. “First of all, it’s fucking freezing!”

“You can wear a jacket to the party,” Leo shrugged. “Just take it off when you get there. How’s Nico supposed to eye your perfect abs if you never show them off?”

Jason groaned and shook his head. “This isn’t going to happen. Find me another costume, or I’m not going.”

An hour later Leo the Sugar Skull Mariachi and Jason the Shirtless Roman Soldier were drinking beer against the wall of the Stoll Brothers’ apartment. Jason’s nipples were like thumb tacks sticking out of a cork board, and he kept folding his arms over his chest to maintain modesty. At least Leo had given him a cape to go along with the outfit, and the Stoll’s kept their place pretty warm, but that didn’t mean Jason was any less self-conscious.

“Would you knock it off?” Leo hissed. “You’re in better shape than most of the guys here. Own it. Love your body.”

“I am not comfortable half naked and in a skirt, Leo,” Jason hissed back. “Maybe if you’d picked something _sensible_ —”

“You chose to come out tonight wearing that! Don’t blame me for a decision you made yourself.”

“You gave me no other options!”

“Jason Grace, don’t you give me that sh—”

“We havin’ fun here, guys?”

Jason and Leo both whipped their heads around to where Connor Stoll, dressed as a vampire, was holding up two shots of tequila. He looked incredibly amused by their bickering, but people were starting to stare and Jason guessed he was diffusing the situation before it got bad 

“Thanks,” Jason and Leo said simultaneously. They then downed their shots in perfect synchrony, and Connor clapped before giving them a thumbs up.

“Alright! You guys just remember this is a _party_ , kay? Help yourselves to some chips. More booze. The night’s just getting started!”

Connor then ran off, and Jason chugged what was left of his beer. Really, it was a pretty good party. The music was all either cheesy Halloween-themed tunes, or some sort of new EDM stuff Jason wasn’t familiar with. There was an extensive candy bar next to the booze table, everything was decorated in orange and black, and the Stolls even set up one of their rooms as a quiet area with a sign that read “NO SEX—THIS DOOR STAYS OPEN”. Naturally, the other bedroom door had a sign that said “SEX HERE—KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING” with a small bowl of condoms right beside it. Since the door was closed Jason was guessing the party had already gotten off to a good start.

“Sorry man,” Jason sighed. “I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

Leo shrugged and flashed him a smile. “No sweat. I know how bad you’ve got it. I’m just trying to help.”

“And what about you?” Jason asked. “I think it’s unfair that we only talk about _my_ crush.”

Leo’s face was painted white, but Jason guessed he was blushing. “Dude, not even. Calypso’s just hot. I mean sure, having a girlfriend would be rad, and she totally wants me, but… pfft, I have so many girls to choose from! Why pick one?”

It was then that the front door opened, and in walked Calypso dressed like a Greek goddess. Literally. She looked beautiful in a white, fitted toga that hit the floor like a red-carpet gown. Her hair was beautifully curled, and atop her head sat golden laurels that made her look like a queen. She was stunning, as evidence by the way Leo immediately went dead silent, but what caught Jason’s eye was the vision that followed her.

He should have known Calypso would be the type to have her plus one come in a matching costume. Nico, who Jason had only seen out of baggy clothing once, was wrapped in a black toga that flattered him just as much as Calypso’s. His hair was slicked back with some sort of magical product that made him look like he’d used no gel at all, and he wore his own crown of silver laurels that matched the silver belt and armbands that Calypso had no doubt leant to him. The most amazing, brain-stopping thing about the whole outfit, though, was the fact that Nico seemed well rested and, well, tan. It was like he’d gone out to the beach and gotten some sun, and he looked really fucking good.

Without being aware of what he was doing Jason gravitated toward Nico. Calypso had already run off to say hi to a friend, and Nico was left standing by the door looking all colors of awkward. And even _then_ he looked hot.

_Are you fucking kidding me?!_ Jason wanted to scream.

“Holy shit,” came out of his mouth instead, which was probably a stupid thing to say.

“Holy shit yourself,” Nico deadpanned. “Did you glue light switches to your pecs or is it that cold in here?”

Jason immediately covered his chest and felt his whole body flush with embarrassment. “Hey! It was a compliment,” he insisted. “You look amazing.”

Nico lifted a brow in that suspiciously skeptical way Jason had grown fond of, and after a moment of looking Jason up and down he rolled his eyes and moved toward the booze table.

“I’m not drunk enough for this.”

“Ditto,” Jason said under his breath. He poured himself a rum and coke, finished if off in a hot second, and then poured himself some whisky. Nico made himself a fireball cider.

“So how’d he convince you?” Nico finally asked once he was inebriated enough to relax.

Jason furrowed his brows in confusion, and Nico nodded over to where Leo was chatting up a group of girls across the room. Jason sighed and shook his head, taking another gulp from his glass.

“Yeah, Leo’s got a silver tongue when he’s not being an idiot.”

“Glad to know I’ll be safe from persuasion, then,” Nico noted. “Because Leo is almost always an idiot.”

“Don’t I know it,” Jason chuckled. “How about you, then? How’d Calypso get you in that outfit?”

Nico looked down at himself and folded his arms with a huff. “I showed up to her place in a skeleton hoodie and she chastised me for my ‘utter lack of creativity’. She took some fabric, draped it, and made me a toga in like ten minutes.”

Jason was guessing Calypso had to be a pretty good seamstress to make Nico look that fucking good with just a couple minutes and some black fabric.

“And your brand new tan?” Jason asked. “Because wow you—it looks good on you.”

Nico grumbled and shrunk in on himself. “Calypso’s self-tanner. She says I’m a disgrace to Italy being so pasty, so she loaned me some. I don’t really see the point. It’ll wash off in the shower in a couple days, anyways.”

Jason took a moment to thank the lord for the fact that Nico would be a golden god for the next few days, at least. He’d have to make up some excuses to hang out.

“Well it suits you,” Jason decided. “And I mean, living in California you must get to the beach, right? San Diego! It’s known for its beaches!”

Nico had already been in a sour mood when he’d arrived at the party, but as soon as Jason mentioned the beach he curled in on himself. Jason immediately tried to apologize, but Nico held his hand up and turned to make himself a new drink.

“Um...” Jason managed as he watched Nico down another Fireball Cider. “Listen, Nico, I’m really sorry if what I said was insensitive. I didn’t mean to and I swear I won’t do it again.”

“Save it,” Nico cut back. “It’s not your fault. Something pissed me off earlier and—well it’s not a big deal.”

Jason frowned, because it definitely was a big deal. Even in the beginning Nico hadn’t been this closed off and angry. _Wanting_ to fix the problem wasn’t going to help, but listening might make things better. So, Jason grabbed Nico by the hand and led him to the quiet room. There were a few people chatting inside, but it was nowhere near as loud as the main party. Jason sat down on a couch that had been moved to the room and motioned for Nico to do the same. At first he didn’t look like he wanted to, but eventually Nico gave in and took a seat next to Jason.

“Okay, so talk to me,” Jason prompted.

Nico rolled his eyes. “If that’s what your big opener is, I’m glad you’re not going to be a psychologist.”

“Nico,” Jason said pointedly.

Nico slumped. Jason wasn’t going to let him get out of this with sarcasm, and maybe that was the wrong thing to do, but pushing was all Jason knew.

“[I got an email from my ex](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmV62-f-xnU),” Nico finally admitted.

Suddenly the room felt like a sauna, and Jason’s heart pulsed at an uncomfortably fast speed in his chest. He waded past the thrumming in his ears to manage a sympathetic look. Only then did Jason realize Nico’s nostrils were flared, his brows were furrowed, his jaw was clenched tight. Was Nico… afraid?

“What did they say?” Jason asked.

Unsteadily and very, very slowly Nico took a breath. “My ex… _he_ said… he just said hello and wished me a happy Halloween.”

In that moment Jason tried very hard to mask his emotions. Nico liked guys, and that was something that made him extremely excited. However, if Jason was right Nico was terrified of letting him know he liked guys. The last thing Jason needed to do was overdo his reaction. If Nico needed a big response, he would’ve told Jason straight out he was gay or bi or whatever. Instead he tried to gloss over it, and the appropriate response was for Jason to show his acceptance by treating it just as lightly.

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he said with a small smile. “Was there something weird about his email other than his greeting?”

Nico visibly relaxed and rested his head against the back of the couch. Good. Jason made the right choice.

“No, nothing weird,” he sighed. “It’s just… have you ever sort of grown to loath a person, but they’re so nice that you’re not really allowed to hate them?”

Jason shrugged unhelpfully, and Nico threw his hands up.

“Well, what made you loath him? I mean he’s your ex, right? You must’ve liked him at one point.”

Nico snorted. “Oh yeah. Fuck did I ever love this guy.” Jason’s fingers twitched. “But… I duno, he was too good to be true. A tall, hot surfer studying to be a doctor. One who would bring me dinner in the library during finals and carry me back to my dorm if I didn’t want to leave. I mean, who has that kind of luck their freshman year?”

“I can only imagine,” Jason said dryly.

“But Will has a problem with fixing things,” Nico continued. “He thought he could ‘fix’ my problems by taking me to parties and introducing me to people. Whenever I relapsed into depression he would tell me I just needed to try harder, and in the end I resented him for thinking I was a problem with a solution instead of a human who just _needed_ someone.”

Jason felt himself swell with indignation on Nico’s behalf. Maybe it was the jealousy talking, but he couldn’t believe someone could fuck up so bad in a relationship.

“So you two broke up?”

Nico nodded solemnly. “Will didn’t really understand why, but I think he knew we weren’t working out so he accepted it. At first I tried not to hate him, but he kept being _nice_ and that really fucking pissed me off.”

Jason reached out and set a hand atop Nico’s where they were balled up on his lap. Nico looked at him, almost like he was waiting for some sort of judgment, but Jason just smiled and whispered, “Sounds like he’s kind of an asshole.”

Nico let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. “Okay, he wasn’t _that_ bad. He just… didn’t  understand.”

“And that still bothers you,” Jason said.

“Yeah… it does.”

Once again Jason frowned. He didn’t like that Nico’s first relationship had ended on such a bad note. He really hoped that didn’t ruin Nico’s perception of relationships for the future (and not for his own selfish reasons), because he really felt like Nico deserved someone good.

“Next time will be better,” Jason assured. “Maybe I can’t say that with 100% confidence, but I believe it.”

Nico smiled wryly. “You’re a very optimistic person, Jason Grace.”

“I try.”

For a moment the two just sat there listening to the music that occasionally carried in from the other room. Around them people were having fun—talking, drinking, making out—but Jason thought this was fun, too. Nico’s company was fun, if only for the fact that it made him so happy.

“Leo Valdez you fucking piece of _trash_!”

“Fuck,” Jason groaned. He stood, Nico right behind him, and rushed into the living room where Calypso and Leo were standing surrounded by a crowd. Calypso was covered in something, and Leo’s face paint was smeared and his hair was wet like he’d a drink had been thrown in his face.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked, immediately trying to take stock of the situation.

“You!” Calypso growled, turning on him. “Take his drunk ass home!”

Jason looked over at Leo, who was seething where he stood. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you what happened!” both Calypso and Leo shouted at once. They rounded on each other, and before a fight could break out Travis Stoll stepped between them.

“Leo and Calypso were talking. Leo kept drinking, he started hitting on her, Calypso told him he needed to fuck off, and Leo poured a drink down her dress. Calypso yelled and threw _her_ drink in his face, and here we are.” He then gave Jason an apologetic look and pushed Leo his way. “Sorry man, but as much as we enjoy some good drama we’re not about this. We’re gona have to ask you two to leave.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Jason said with a nod. Jason tried to take Leo by the arm, but Leo pulled away and went right out the door, slamming it behind him. “Sorry about this, guys. Calypso, I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t wana hear it from _you_ , Jason!” she spat back. Nico was already at her side with a wet towel and her coat. “Just tell him never to come near me again!”

Jason wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he quickly made his leave and tracked Leo down on the path back to their apartment. He looked like a miserable clown, what with his curls drooping and his makeup running down his face. Jason tried to hand him his coat, but Leo angrily shrugged him away and stuffed his hands into his pockets. They didn’t talk the entire way home, and as soon as they got through the door Leo locked himself in the bathroom and started running the shower.

That was probably as far as Jason would get for the night, so he changed out of his costume before texting Nico for an update.

**Jason  
** _how’s calypso?_

**Nico  
** _Enraged. But I got her home, so at least she’s in a better environment._  

**Jason**  
 _that’s good  
_ _I’ll apologize to her again when I see her_  

**Nico  
** _And Leo?_

**Jason**   
_he’s definitely not happy  
_ _won’t talk to me, but I think he needs to sleep it off_

**Nico  
** _Do him a favor and slip him an asprin before he goes to bed._

**Jason  
** _yeah will do_

**Jason**   
_oh and nico?_  
 _sorry about your ex.  
_ _if it makes you feel better, I’ll always be here to listen if you need to talk_

Jason stared at the phone for a minute after he sent the text. He heard the shower turn off, and quickly ran to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and an Advil before Leo retreated to his room. Leo just grunted his thanks and shut the door. Jason called a goodnight before going back to his own room, and as soon as he jumped into bed he noticed his phone light up with a message.

**Nico  
** _Thank you, Jason. Happy Halloween._  

**Jason  
** _happy halloween nico_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness this is the chapter that would never end. I agonized over this and I'm still not completely happy, but sometimes you gotta cut loose and let it fly!
> 
> So now that classes have resumed and I've gotten a feel for my schedule I feel comfortable in stating that I'll be delivering bi-weekly updates! That means every other Saturday/Sunday I'll post a chapter. I know that might not be as frequent as some may like, but I do try very hard to bring a lot of good content every chapter, and I think with school back in session the quality would suffer if I tried to post every week. Sorry guys, but thank you for all the support anyways! I'm so happy to see comments and kudos when they come in!
> 
> If you ever have a questions you can contact me on my tumblr, url unoffangirls.tumblr.com and I can turn my anon on if anyone would like.


	5. Morning Calls on Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No way…” Jason couldn’t believe it. “You think Nico has been planning this the whole time?”
> 
> “Well, I wouldn’t say it in such an underhanded way,” Piper admitted, “but it sounds like he was trying to give you options. Maybe I’m wrong, but if I’m right then I agree with him. You’re way better suited to Sociology than PolySci.”

Everyone is different when they’re drunk. It’s almost a law of the universe. When Jason was drunk he became the most affectionate, boundary-blind person in the room. After a few too many martinis Piper turned into such an impassioned activist that she once actually managed to plan a major protest rally during a night of partying. And Leo? Well, Leo started off the life of the party. He was everybody’s best friend! After a few too many, though, mistakes would happen. Mistakes like last night.

It wasn’t really Leo’s fault. Okay, it was, but Leo’s smaller size was the root of the problem. He’d think he was alright, and usually so did Piper and Jason, but then one shot of Jägermeister would have him breaking chairs and pissing in closets. He just didn’t burn off the alcohol fast enough. They all knew his limits, but parties were a tough environment to pace yourself in, and if Jason had been doing his job as wingman instead of chatting up Nico he might’ve been able to cut Leo off before things went to shit.

That’s why Jason was up at seven in the morning making coffee and an extra-buttery breakfast burrito. The damn sun wasn’t even up yet, but Jason figured making Leo breakfast was the least he could do before waking him up. Mass started in an hour, after all, and Leo would beat himself up for days if he missed church on Día de los Muertos.

With coffee brewed and burrito rolled Jason made his way into Leo’s room, where Leo was dead asleep in a tangle of blankets and sheets. He didn’t even stir at the smell of breakfast, and that was amazing considering how much Leo loved food. God this hangover was going to be bad.

“Leo,” Jason called.

“Leo,” he tried again, this time nudging Leo with his foot as he tried not to spill the coffee or drop the food. Still no response, though. Jason sighed, and he finally shouted Leo’s name with a swift kick to the ass.

“Fuck you!” was the first thing Leo groaned before turning over and pulling a pillow over his head.

Jason kicked again, and this time Leo shot upright to level Jason with a dirty look. Unfortunately for him the sudden movement seemed to bring on a wave of nausea, and Jason watched his friend double over in pain with a look of sympathy and maybe the smallest sense of satisfaction.

“Are we awake now?” Jason asked.

“Fuck you!” Leo repeated.

Jason shook his head and placed Leo’s breakfast on the nightstand. As Leo wallowed in his misery Jason went to the closet to look for some church clothes, knowing Leo was probably too sick to do it himself. Surprisingly enough, Leo’s closet was pretty well-organized. His hamper might’ve been overflowing, but when Leo got around to laundry day he was good at putting everything in its place. Unlike his desk, which always looked like it had just been ransacked.

When Jason finally found a nice set of clothes he set them on the bed and patted Leo on the back.

“Hurry up and finish your food,” he said, “because your hangover showers last forever and I don’t want to stand at church.”

Leo looked up from his coffee, brows furrowed, and Jason just pointed to the picture of Esperanza on the nightstand. Almost immediately all the hostility slipped out of Leo’s expression, leaving him looking tired, sick, and incredibly longing. He set his coffee down and picked the burrito up, and slowly but steadily he ate like Jason told him to.

Knowing Leo probably needed a moment alone Jason slipped off to his own room to get dressed. They’d need to leave within the hour if Leo wanted to light a candle and say a prayer before mass started, and since neither of them had visited St. Olav’s before they needed time to find their way there. At least Jason was kind of familiar with the area. St. Hanshaugen was right next to Grünerløkka, and considering Nico’s neighborhood had become like a second home Jason was convinced he’d be able to find the church without much issue.

Twenty minutes later Leo tentatively knocked on Jason’s bedroom door and announced he was ready to go. They locked up the apartment and Jason led them to the bus stop where they’d catch their ride and get out of the cold. The snow had come late to Oslo that year—mid October instead of late September—but it had arrived with a strength that none of the exchange students had expected. Since first snow had happened around midterms everyone was too holed up indoors to say much of anything, but now that the pace of school had calmed down Jason was all too aware of how frigid it was.

[As the bus rolled away from the stop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDz45y_C630), Jason and Leo were seated somewhere in the middle. Jason watched the dark world outside the window and tried to imagine how something that looked so much like a cloud could be so dense and so cold.

At this early on a Saturday morning the streets and bus stops were empty, so Jason and Leo managed to make it to the station near the church in just under twenty minutes. The church itself was relatively close, and its tall peak acted as an elaborate marker that they could follow until they reached the brick steps. Jason took a moment to admire the old, ornate building against the background of daybreak before Leo urged him inside.

The church, both outside and inside, was a piece of gothic art—like something you see in a movie. Tall, vaulted ceilings, narrow, vertical lines, and a grand piece of stained glass that colored the dawn sunlight as it lit the wooden pews. It should have felt cold, but the walls were a pleasant cream color and plenty of the old, cheerful members of the congregation were milling about exchanging morning greetings. Not to mention it was so warm. Heating a building made of stone was probably really expensive, but Jason was thankful for the lack of thrift in this aspect.

“I’ll find us a seat,” he offered, noticing how Leo’s eyes had zeroed in on the prayer candles as soon as they were in sight of them. Leo went off without a word, so Jason found a place to sit next to a kind elderly couple and took a moment to just observe.

Jason himself was agnostic. His step-mother proclaimed herself to be a strict Christian, but she was so up herself that instead of actually attending church she just sent them a huge donation every month and called her duty to God done. As a result Jason and Thalia barely ever set foot inside a church growing up. Though, if Jason was remembering right, Thalia recently told him she’d joined a group in the bay area that was led by a woman who she’d practically adopted as the mother she never had. Whether or not it was religious Jason wasn’t sure, but by the way Thalia spoke he figured it was spiritual in some sort of way.

As mass began Leo managed to find Jason and take his seat. Jason had been with Leo to church a couple times before, mostly during holidays, so he had a good idea of when to stand and when to kneel and when to bow his head. Leo, meanwhile, was following along perfectly. The only thing that set him apart from everyone else was that he whispered his prayers in Spanish instead of English or Norwegian (or even Latin, if he heard correct). Leo might not have been a very strict or dedicated Catholic, but Jason could see how important his mother’s religion was to him by how disciplined he was during the whole procession

When final prayers were said Jason and Leo moved their way through the crowd and out into the sunny, freezing morning. Jason motioned for Leo to follow him, and the two of them walked over to the bus station where they caught a ride to central Grünerløkka. Jason had seen a crêpe shop the other day while visiting Nico, and ever since he’d been craving crêpes. Even though Leo had already eaten breakfast he didn’t complain when they walked into the small café, and Jason ordered two coffees and a Nutella, wild berry crêpe.

“So,” he began as he settled at the table Leo had chosen, food and drinks in hand. “Was that enough time for you to figure out how you’re going to explain last night?”

Leo sighed and took a sip of his coffee—still black. “I’d prefer to forget last night.”

“I can imagine,” Jason drawled around a mouthful of crêpe. “But that’s obviously not going to happen.”

“Figures.”

Leo sat there for a moment simply huddled in his chair drinking coffee. Jason couldn’t tell if he was pouting or scowling, but the real answer was probably neither. He was just figuring out what to say and how to say it.

“It started out okay,” Leo admitted, finally figuring out where to begin. “I was buzzed and we were talking about you and Nico, and then we were talking about ourselves. It felt like it was going really great, so I got nervous. Started drinking too much. Passed ‘the limit’.”

Leo began to fiddle with the napkin dispenser. Jason watched him subconsciously take it apart and put it back together again, somehow more sturdy even though he was carrying no extra parts. Classic, nervous Leo.

“I can’t really remember what I said beyond me trying to be funny and Calypso looking disgusted. She told me to fuck off, and I got angry and scared. Things had been going so well and suddenly they weren’t, and I didn’t want Calypso to be like the others.”

Ah, the others. Leo had a history of rejection that Jason knew hurt his ego. He’d see a hot girl, get convinced she was perfect for him, then lay on the “charm” until he was completely shut down. It wasn’t that he didn’t stand a chance, though. More like Leo got this whole fantasy in his head about these girls and his possible relationship with them, only to find out they were different than what he’d imagined and had no interest in a guy with delusions of grandeur. Calypso, Jason believed, was the first girl Leo had tried to get to know before he decided he liked her.

“So the drink—what was that about?” Jason asked.

“That,” Leo said, voice all breath, “was me trying to crack a joke while simultaneously being a vindictive brat. I thought spilling my drink on her would shock her, maybe make her lighten up a little and get off her high horse. At that point I was so fucking drunk and emotional that the idea sounded brilliant. Instead…”

“Instead, you made an ass out of yourself in front of everyone.”

Leo groaned and buried his face in his hands. “What the fuck am I gona do, Jason? I’m the biggest prick in the this whole fucking country!”

“That may be an exaggeration, but you definitely didn’t gain any fans last night.”

To Leo’s credit, he did look incredibly ashamed and apologetic for what he did. He might strut around like a peacock sometimes, but Leo was a good person and when he was wrong he didn’t make excuses for himself. And honestly, as disappointed as Jason was, Leo was still his best friend. Jason wanted him to recover from this.

“Listen Leo, I’m not going to make you face this alone,” Jason promised. “I’ll help you figure out what to do to fix your reputation, but the hard work is going to be up to you. That includes apologizing to Calypso.”

Leo nodded. “Yeah, I want to apologize anyway. It’s—I _have_ to.”

Jason smiled and reached over to pat Leo on the shoulder. Leo smiled back, and in that moment everything was apologized for and everything was forgiven. Words weren’t necessary with the two of them.

“So, should we head back?” Leo asked once the silence had run its course.”

“Yeah, let me just—”

Jason’s phone chimed, and he pulled it out to see Nico had texted asking about Leo. Jason could literally _feel_ the grin growing on his face. It was ridiculous. They were right in his neighborhood. It would be easy to drop by, talk about the party and maybe discuss more sociology stuff. Oh, Jason could even bring him a crêpe. The only question was whether Nico would want sweet or savory. Should he bring both?

“Oh my god.”

Jason looked over at Leo and found his friend looked both annoyed and disgusted at the same time. Jason was going to ask what was wrong, but Leo just shook his head and grabbed his coat.

“Go. Got to him, and don’t invite me, because watching you moon over someone is only funny when I have someone to mock you with.” Leo pointed at Jason, eyes narrow. “But I’m warning you, Jason Grace. You better figure out what you want. I won’t be here to listen to your sob stories come January, and then you’re going to have to figure your shit out alone.

With that Leo took his leave, and Jason sat there wondering whether or not Leo was right. Did Jason subconsciously know what he wanted? Was he being honest with himself?

Did Jason want more than Nico’s friendship?

 

A few days later Jason found himself staring at the empty chair across from him—sociological studies borrowed from Nico on the table between—wondering how happy he’d be if Nico was his boyfriend. Assuming a confession went well and they started dating, would Jason be that much happier? Or, the better question was, would Jason become unhappy if things stayed the way they were?

Jason shook his head and turned back to the papers. They were actually really interesting, and Jason had gone through at least four of them already. The language wasn’t over complicated, and the math was no harder than economics. The topics, though—the topics were fascinating. Everything from the distribution of funds between segregated neighborhoods to the phenomena of copycat suicide was studied in sociology. Jason couldn’t believe a field existed where so much research went into people. Real, actual people and not just their money. It was inspiring, to say the least.

Jason had been in the middle of a report that outlined the homelessness problem among LGBT+ teens when he’d gotten distracted by his own not-so-heteronormative thoughts. Really, the plight of these kids shouldn’t have him thinking of his crush, but it _did_. Because then Jason wondered what would happen if he came out to his own step-mom, and if he should wait until he was secure enough to live on his own or if he should just do it. And what about his possible future boyfriend? How would he feel about Jason being in the closet with his own parents? Would he care? Would Nico care?

So, like always, Jason’s train of thought had chugged right on back to Nico Station and Jason had mindlessly gotten off at the stop. Which, honestly, wouldn’t be so bad if Jason hadn’t started playing out different scenarios of courtship in his mind. God, this had to be a whole new level of ‘got it bad’.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Thankful for the distraction, Jason got up to greet Leo at the door. The past week he’d been very busy trying to clean up the mess he made after what everyone now called The Halloween Incident. Leo wasn’t going to apologize to everyone individually, but he did want to make a peace offering, and that would likely come in the form of some sort of catch-all event where he could make up for the night he almost ruined. Well… except for two or three people that deserved a personal apologies. Those Leo was working on with caution.

“Hey, how’d your talk with the Stolls go?”

Leo smiled like a kid who’d just gotten praised by their favorite adult and gave Jason a thumbs-up. “Not only did they say everything was square, but they also gave me a great idea for regaining my honor.”

“Oh?” Jason asked, going back to the chair he’d occupied earlier while Nico made his way to the couch.

“Yeah, they mentioned how they were bummed for getting in trouble for the party—”

“Wait, they got in trouble?”

“Because of a neighbor snitching to the landlord or something,” Leo explained dismissively. “Anyways, because of that they can’t throw a party for Thanksgiving, and I was thinking—”

“Leo…”

“We can throw a Thanksgiving party instead!”

Jason sighed a long, suffering sigh. Of course Leo’s idea had to be big. Of course he couldn’t just bake cookies and say “I’m sorry”. Of course he had to pull Jason along, too.

“Leo, how many people do you think we can fit in this apartment?”

“Psh, at least twenty!”

“Twenty?!” Jason exclaimed. “Leo, we’d be lucky to fit ten! How the hell are we going to manage twenty?”

Leo shrugged. “I’m sure we can do it. We’ll put the couch in my room, set some tables up end-to-end, and put people on each side. Might be a little cozy, but it’ll work.”

And of course Leo had an answer.

“I’m guessing you have a food plan, too?”

“Oh yeah!” Leo assured. “We can take care of the turkey, and ask everyone else to bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish. It’ll be like a pot luck.”

Of _course_.

“Are you really serious about this, Leo?” Jason asked.

Leo squared his shoulders and nodded. No jokes, no schemes, just one hundred percent genuine enthusiasm to make up Halloween by giving everyone a fun Thanksgiving dinner far from home. Even if Jason had been dead set against the idea there was no way he could say no now. He didn’t have much of a choice.

“Alright, I’ll help invite some people, then.” Leo whooped and went to give Jason a hug, but Jason held up a hand before he could get too excited. “You know this means you’ll have to invite Calypso yourself, right?”

Leo winced, but nodded all the same. “I figured this would be how it happened. She may not say yes, but I’ll still do it.”

“Good,” Jason said with a small nod and a pat to Leo’s shoulder. “Now, should we make a guest list?”

In the end the list got up to about twenty three people. It was a lot for their small apartment to hold, but they would find a way to maximize space and still keep everyone comfortable. The list was divided between them, and within a week they’d already gotten twelve confirmations. That, unfortunately, did not yet include Calypso or Nico. Leo had been nervous to approach Calypso empty handed, and Jason told Nico about the party but also said he would give him more information at a later date. So, as it was, Leo and Jason had no idea whether their guests of honor were coming.

But today that would change.

The night before the two of them set to work making formal invitations for the dinner. Even though they’d already invited a ton of people, it was probably better that everyone had something to reference when they were making plans. Nico’s and Calypso’s were personalized.

It was now almost noon, and Jason had made plans to meet Nico and give him his invitation over lunch. Since Nico was still in class Jason decided to wait in front of the lecture hall, and no sooner did he arrive than students started filing out into the hallway.

Jason waited, and waited, and waited some more until no one was left. Then, just as he was about to pop his head inside, Nico walked out with his professor. The two seemed to be in the middle of a conversation—a funny one it seemed by all the smiling and laughing—and Jason stood by awkwardly until Nico noticed him and pointed him out.

“This is the friend I was telling you about, Professor Smith,” Nico said as they approached Jason. “Jason, this is my Community Psychology professor. He’s where I get all the Sociology papers from.”

“Oh!” Jason perked up and stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“It’s nice to meet you, young man,” Professor Smith replied as he shook the offered hand. He had a playful look to him, almost as though he were Santa Claus without the beard. “Mr. Di Angelo tells me you’ve taken quite an interest in what we study.”

Jason wanted to blush. “Oh, well… none of the complicated things I’m sure psychologists have to know, but the general stuff is really interesting. I’m majoring in PolySci and minoring in Econ, so it’s refreshing to read something that has to do with real people.”

“Money and politics are very much related to real people,” Professor Smith assured, though he sounded more amused than anything. “But I digress—have you ever considered taking a Sociology or General Psychology class? I usually teach at Berkley, but I’m on a sabbatical this year. Perhaps you’d be interested in my winter semester class on the geopolitical relations between governments and their people in developing countries?”

“Professor, you shouldn’t even be teaching during your sabbatical,” Nico scolded.

Professor Smith laughed a big, hardy laugh that reminded Jason even more of Saint Nick. He winked at Jason and said, “It’s my time off, and if I decide to spend it teaching then by God I will. So then, Mr…?”

“Er, Grace. Jason Grace.”

“Mr. Grace!” Professor Smith said in a booming voice. “Will you consider my class? I’d love to have another enthusiastic student in my lecture hall.” Then, sensing Jason still wasn’t quite sure, he added, “And I can even lend you some more reading material, if you’d like.”

Jason smiled and felt a familiar flush of excitement sweep over him. There were only a few times in his life where he’d been eager to hear his father’s approval. Usually he was left unsatisfied and feeling inadequate, but the few times his father _did_ praise him his heart would beat uncontrollably and he’d start to tremble under the power of adrenaline. This, right here, was like those times.

“I’ll have to send a message to my advisor, but I’d love to take your class,” Jason declared, nodding enthusiastically as Professor Smith let out another jolly laugh.

“That’s good, Mr. Grace! That’s good! I’ll be sure to put a word in on your behalf if they give you any trouble. For now, though…” Professor Smith reached into his bag and pulled out a book titled _The Sociological Imagination_. “That’s one of the best critiques of the sociological field you can get under five hundred pages. As I always say: You must learn the faults of what you want to study before you learn to love it!”

Jason thanked Professor Smith profusely, and the older man just waved it off and told Jason to return it on the first day of class. He then bid Nico and Jason goodbye, and Jason was left in the wake of a man who he didn’t know could exist.

“Are all the teachers in Psychology that cool?” Jason asked, breathless as they trekked across the salty sidewalks toward a small sandwich shop.

Nico snorted. “No, I assure you they’re not all that cool. Professor Smith is a rare breed of professor that likes to bask in the wonder of humanity without any type of old man cynicism. That’s why so many people take his classes. He’s got a perfect score on Rate My Professor.”

“No shit?” That was like getting a perfect score at the Olympics. “Well, he’s awesome. I’m definitely taking his class. Are you going to take it, too?”

Nico shook his head. “I can’t. The class will be under Sociology, and since I’m working on my upper divisions now I’ll have to stick to Psychology courses.”

That was kind of disappointing. Jason was hoping he’d get to share a class with Nico like Leo did. It was ridiculous, but he felt a little jealous whenever the two talked about lectures or a recent test. Jason tried to nose in wherever he could, and Leo even had to exile him from their Wednesday homework sessions, but Jason couldn’t help it. He wanted to get as much of Nico’s attention as possible, and Nico never discouraged him.

“Well, you’ll still help me when I’m absolutely stumped, right?”

Nico’s gaze slid toward Jason, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile. “I believe you’ll take to Sociology more easily than you think.”

“Yeah?” Jason asked, unable to hide his own tender smile.

“Yeah.”

A small, giddy laugh bubbled at the bottom of Jason’s throat. He swallowed it, and locked the feeling away in his stomach where it flipped and fluttered about until it finally fell asleep. For a moment, his mind went back to his thoughts from earlier in the week. Was he happier being just friends with Nico? Was it worth it, when Jason constantly wanted to do things—like, for example, wrap an arm around Nico’s shoulder and pull him close—that may or may not be appropriate? It was a frustrating question, because Jason just wanted things to be easy. Easy and maybe a bit more tactile.

As they finally sat down for lunch Jason decided to push his needy urges away in favor of presenting Nico with his Thanksgiving invitation. Nico accepted it with a smirk, and after reading it over he nodded.

“I mean, I would have been free anyway,” Nico said with a shrug. “As far as my favorite Thanksgiving dish goes that might be a hard one. I’d need to call my stepmother and ask her for her pomegranate jelly recipe and…”

“Stepmoms,” Jason sighed. They’d bonded over their mutual frustration toward them. Whereas Jason’s stepmom was overly cloying and all too enthusiastic to be his “real” mother, Nico’s stepmom was more distant and cordial. She was his Dad’s second wife, and Nico represented that awkward position as the reminder of the tragically passed first love. It didn’t do wonders for their relationship.

“Well, don’t force yourself,” Jason insisted. “I’m sure we’ll have more than enough food to go around.”

“Speaking of which,” Nico said, nodding toward their approaching waiter.

Lunch passed pleasantly after that. Outside of his own thoughts, being with Nico really was easy. Their conversations flowed between topics like they’d known one another for years, but at the same time there was always a new piece of information Nico would let slip that Jason would jump on like a hungry puppy. It was comfortable, and when Jason got home he walked around the apartment with the ease of a love-struck fool.

Leo wouldn’t be back until it was dark, and since his workload had gotten lighter after midterms Jason had some time to sit back and relax. There were a few things he could do to pass the time. Reading the book Professor Smith had lent him was an attractive option. Then again, Jason was kind of worried his mind would wander to other attractive options while he was reading. The last thing he needed was to go off on a mental tangent about whether or not he totally wanted to kiss Nico, only to be brought back to earth when Leo got home and gave him that look of disappointment. No, Jason needed something to keep him actively occupied.

And just like that, he knew what he was going to do.

Booting up his laptop, Jason checked his watch and calculated that it must be around ten o’clock in New York. That meant Piper might be close to her computer, and if he could get a hold of her they could talk for a little while. Just because they broke up didn’t mean Jason didn’t love Piper dearly, and whenever they went too long without talking he always made sure to give her a call.

“Hello?”

“Hey hey, it’s me! Are you busy?” Jason asked. Piper hadn’t turned her video on, so Jason wasn’t sure if she was on her phone or laptop. If it was her phone chances were they wouldn’t be able to talk. “I can call back later if you want?”

“No no, it’s fine! Give me a second, I’m in the kitchen. Let me call you back from my computer.”

Five minutes later Jason was face-to-face with his best friend and he couldn’t be happier. Piper looked great as always, but beneath the beauty Jason could see relief. He knew that the absence of both he and Leo this semester had been rough—especially after the break up. They’d had countless conversations about Piper’s stumbling steps toward new friendship, and while she seemed optimistic she never lied and said it was easy. Luckily, things seemed to be turning around for her.

“So Pipes, how are you? How’s the theater group?” Jason asked.

Piper sighed, sounding exasperated and fond at the same time. For the next fifteen minutes they talked about acting class and the wonderful, idiotic, vain, sweet people she was growing close to. It was strictly an extracurricular, but Jason sensed Piper was getting a taste for her father’s profession.

When that topic lost steam Jason updated Piper on the Halloween incident, and they bounced around from there. Conversations started with, “Oh wait, did I tell you?” and ended with either a huge burst of laughter or a nonsensical segue. In a way it was easier than talking to Leo, because Jason was never pushed to talk about things he didn’t want to talk about. In a way it was harder than talking to Leo, because Piper was crafty with language and Jason often found himself talking about them anyway. If Jason was being honest, though, he needed both of them to help unravel the mess of thoughts he’d collect in his brain to rot. He wasn’t raised to be vocal about his problems. Piper and Leo were teaching him, and with twice the love and compassion he ever received at home.

“So yeah, I’m excited to start!” Jason exclaimed, in reference to his newly acquired Sociology book. “I mean, the papers I’ve read already were cool, but now I’ve got a whole book that will really lay it out for me.”

“Uh huh.” Piper looked confused, and then she asked: “Jason, do you want to change your major?”

“What?!” was Jason’s initial reaction. He was about to add a quick ‘no’ to the previous statement, but then he stopped himself.

“Jason?” Piper asked.

Jason looked at her like a lost, confused child and just shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Well,” Pipe said carefully, “you _do_ hate Political Science. And, from what you’ve told me, you’re really interested in Sociology. Could it be that, maybe, you’re not supposed to be a PolySci major?”

“Try telling Juno that,” Jason sighed. “She’s the one that drove me to it.”

“All the more reason to drop it, in my opinion,” Piper deadpanned. “Besides, from how this all seemed to work out, it sounds like this kid you have a crush on has been pushing you in this direction for a while. You think Mr. Psychology maybe had things figured out the whole time?”

“No way…” Jason couldn’t believe it. “You think Nico has been planning this the whole time?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it in such an underhanded way,” Piper admitted, “but it sounds like he was trying to give you options. Maybe I’m wrong, but if I’m right then I agree with him. You’re way better suited to Sociology than PolySci.”

Jason had to let that sink in. Not only the thing about Nico pushing him toward another major, but the fact that Nico was probably right. Jason would be happier studying Sociology than he was studying Political Science. After all, the revelation that he hated his major (among other things) was what drove him to Norway in the first place. Did Nico really give him a way out? Was fate seriously this fucking hilarious?

“Okay,” Piper drawled when Jason had been quiet a bit too long, “I have to get ready for class. Why don’t you stew on this for a bit, and when you’re closer to a solution you can call me again?”

Jason nodded dumbly and offered Piper a quick thanks and a goodbye. Really, he shouldn’t be this affected by a simple question. For most people, changing their majors was a pretty flippant thing. It happened a lot in the first two years of college, almost like a rite of passage, but Jason usually pitied people for it. It was a sign that they didn’t know what they wanted with their lives, and Jason thought that must be pretty terrifying and confusing. Now he was in their positon, and he felt only the slightest bit vindicated by the fact that he was right about things being terrifying and confusing.

Figuring he needed a moment to reset his brain, Jason got up to make a cup of coffee. Halfway to the kitchen, though, Skype stated ringing again. Jason figured it was Piper making a last minute amendment to her goodbye, but instead someone else’s name popped up on the screen.

**_Thalia Grace calling_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow I'm horrible. The chapter after I promise bi-weekly updates I get postponed for a week. I'm so sorry, but my midterms were a lot more time-consuming than I thought they'd be. Also, this chapter was supposed to include a lot more content, but I ended up splitting up the chapter I drafted into two, so for those disappointed in the lack of Nico he'll be popping up in the next chapter. I might be able to have it posted by next weekend, school permitting! So hopefully that'll make up for my tardiness on this chapter.
> 
> I apologize for any glaring mistakes or awkward parts. I wanted to get this chapter up and I couldn't look at it anymore, so when my beta comes back I'll post a more polished version of this chapter and hopefully add the song in. Oh guys I'm a mess, aren't I? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!


	6. A White Out Night In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico’s head dipped back, so Jason couldn’t see his face. As Nico thought, Jason continued rubbing out the tension in the arches and pads of his companion’s feet, always mindful of when something tickled or hurt by the way Nico twitched. He was a little drunk right now, otherwise this probably wouldn’t be happening, but Jason couldn’t help but be excited by the intimacy of their positon. Really, could it be easier than this?

“Hey baby brother!”

Jason’s face split into the biggest, happiest grin when he saw his sister’s face on the screen. She looked great, almost better than the last time he saw her, and Jason told her as much. Thalia just laughed and pretended to slick back her pompadour. It went well with her undercut and tailored sports jacket, and Jason couldn’t believe the sister who’d grown up in ripped jeans and band tees was now rocking sophisticated androgyny in the best way.

“Shit Thalia, how’ve you been? How was Ecuador?”

“Amazing, man. Fucking amazing,” Thalia sighed. “I just got back last Sunday. Sorry I didn’t call sooner.”

“No, that’s fine. You were away for two months. I don’t blame you for wanting some time to yourself,” Jason laughed.

Thalia left for a short volunteer mission with the Global Fund for Women in September and had been out of contact the entire time. That was a pretty normal occurrence, though. Ever since she’d moved to San Francisco her passion had been working in domestic violence shelters and volunteering with different women’s rights organizations around the world. Thalia worked as a bartender under independent contract while she was at home, so it was easy for her to drop everything when greater responsibilities called. To Jason her life sounded ideal. To his parents it was a source of constant argument.

“Damn Jason,” Thalia groaned. “I’m fucking exhausted. From the moment we got off the plane till the moment we got back on we were busy. The school had to be completely remodeled, teachers from nearby villages had to be hired, a curriculum needed to be drawn out. Literally non-stop, but... man was it great to see those girls on the first day of class.”

“I’m so jealous,” Jason whined. “I wish I could’ve gone with you!”

Thalia snorted and flipped her brother off. “Shut up, Jason. You’re in fucking Norway.”

Jason laughed. “Hey! I’ll have you know it is very cold here right now.”

“Oh I’m sure,” Thalia said with a nod. “I’ll keep you in my thoughts while I walk my dog in the California sunshine.”

Jason snorted and shook his head. Thalia was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. She came to him when he was nine, motherless and alone, and gave him a stable sense of home. More than his stepmom, more than his father, there was Thalia’s presence in his life, and it was everything to Jason.

“So then, tell me everything. I want to know exactly what you’ve been up to while you were away.”

“You sure you want to know _everything_?” Thalia asked with a wink.

Jason was insistent, and so Thalia started filling him in like she was weaving a story for the ages. Piper’s voice was soothing and hypnotic, but his sister was captivating. Jason hung off every word like a small kitten hangs on its mother, and when Thalia laughed he laughed, and when Thalia got angry he got angry. It reminded him so much of when he was young, and his father and stepmother would be fighting, and Jason would run to Thalia’s room and listen to her tell stories for hours and hours until the shouts died off. Those were both the best and worst times of his life, and almost all of the good was contributed to Thalia being there. Jason loved her dearly for that, and he always would.

“So, are you and this Zoë girl close?” Jason teased. The girl’s name had popped up quite a few times during Thalia’s story and he wondered if the frustration was hiding something a bit more affectionate.

“Oh no you don’t, Jason Grace,” Thalia warned. “You’re not pulling that one on me when I know for a fact you’re following some boy around like a love-sick puppy.”

Jason balked, absolutely stunned. “How did you know about that? I never told you about that!”

Thalia scoffed. “You may not know what _I_ do while I’m gone, but I’m always keeping tabs on _you_. I’m just shocked that you didn’t tell me sooner. From what I heart, this kid has got you wrapped around his finger.”

“Fucking Leo,” Jason groaned. “Or Piper. I don’t trust either of them to keep my secrets when it comes to you.”

“That’s because there shouldn’t be secrets, Jason,” Thalia scolded. “Now pony up. Who is he?”

Jason sighed. “Okay, where to start? His name is Nico. He goes to school in California, but he’s originally from Long Island. He’s studying Classics and Psychology, and he wants to become a therapist after grad school. Um…”

Thalia sighed—exasperated. “Is he cute?”

Jason’s whole body started to sweat and he gave a little nod. “He’s really cute.”

“Shorter or taller?”

“Shorter.”

“Hair color?”

“Black. And thick and messy and it curls at the ends when he doesn’t cut it.”

“Eyes?”

“Brown. Like, dark brown, and big and round, but his eyebrows know acrobatics so somehow his big doe eyes can look really sarcastic.”

“And his smile?”

Jason breathed out one word: “Gorgeous.”

“Mm,” Thalia hummed. “Tell me about his voice.”

“His voice…” Jason chuckled. “That’s also really sarcastic. Like, most of the things he says make you cringe, but then he smirks a little and it’s really cute so you can’t be too mad at him. Besides, Leo’s on the receiving end most of the time.”

“And when he’s not sarcastic?”

Jason looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap, and he smiled. “Really pleasant. Nico doesn’t raise his voice a lot, so he’s got this steady volume and this… softness to the way he says certain words that’s just… it’s really nice. I like his voice.”

“What else do you like about him?” Thalia asked. Her own voice had quieted, almost like she was coaxing him along. Jason didn’t mind.

“I like his ambition,” Jason said. “He’s really smart and really dedicated to what he wants to be, and he’s not motivated by money or anything. He just wants to help people. I mean, he’s been through a lot in life, so he’ll really be able to connect on a deeper level, you know? I think it’s admirable.”

“I agree.”

Jason chuckled. “He’s also kind of unpredictable.” Then, as if to clarify, he added, “Because he’s always so on point. Then, sometimes, he says something and I find myself kind of shocked, because it’ll be exactly what I needed to hear. I love hearing what he has to say, because it’s never unnecessary.”

“Oh Jason…”

Jason looked at Thalia, and realized he must have sounded so pathetic. Thalia herself looked about ready to reach through the computer screen to hug him, but instead she clicked her tongue like a scolding mother.

“What am I gona do? My baby brother is in love.”

“Woah!” Jason held up his hands. “That’s excessive. I’m not sixteen anymore, Thalia. I know the difference between love and a really, really intense crush.”

“Maybe not love, then,” Thalia continued, “but this is more than a crush. You like this kid a lot, Jay.”

Jason’s cheeks felt hot as he nodded in agreement. He knew he liked Nico bad, but that wasn’t exactly what he was fighting himself over. The issue of whether or not he wanted to pursue anything was the real problem.

Almost as if reading his mind, Thalia asked, “Are you going to ask him out?”

Jason groaned and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know, Thalia. I mean, if I think about this logically, my brain tells me no. We’re going to be one separate parts of the country after our year abroad is over, and if I couldn’t maintain a relationship when my girlfriend lived in my fucking dorm, how am I supposed to do long distance?” He then sat up, frustration clear on his face. “Not to mention I have no idea how Nico feels about me. He’s unreadable, I swear.”

“Okay, sure,” Thalia said, “but then you never ask him out and you hate yourself for it. That’s not an answer either, Jason.”

“I know.”

Yet he was still nervous about acting on his feelings. His reasons for keeping quiet were no longer as altruistic as they had been in the beginning. Jason still thought it wouldn’t be right to try and pursue Nico if Nico wasn’t ready for a relationship, but that just meant leaving the subject alone if Nico rejected him. What really scared Jason was the possibility of that rejection.

“I’ll think about it,” Jason said. “And I’ll let you know when I come to an answer.”

Thalia nodded, seemingly satisfied with his response. She wasn’t going to push it any further, and Jason was thankful for that. Instead, he wanted to talk about something else that was bothering him.

“How do you think Dad would react if I changed my major?”

Thalia froze, eyes trained uneasily on Jason. “To what?” she asked.

“Sociology,” Jason said. His stomach was twisting every which way, and by the look on Thalia’s face he knew it wasn’t going to be an answer he liked. “I’ve been reading some stuff that they study and it’s… really interesting.”

“More than your current major?” she asked. Jason nodded. “And do you think you’d be happier if you switched?”

Who knew Jason’s happiness would turn into such a big issue?

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I know that for now I’m enjoying what I’m reading.”

“But you also hate your major,” Thalia pointed out.

“Well, yeah kinda.”

“Then of course you’d be happier,” she concluded. “If you’d be happier, then switch.”

“That wasn’t my question, though,” Jason said. “Would Dad be angry?”

Thalia nodded, her head moving up and down like an over-enthusiastic bobble-head. “He’ll probably lose his shit. After Juno, of course. They’ll both lose it.”

“Thalia!”

“What? You asked!”

Jason groaned, unable to take the truth of what she said. Yeah, he should’ve realized that would be their response. They were paying his tuition fees, after all. How was Jason supposed to completely disregard their choices for his future when they were the ones funding that future?

“Okay, so then I can’t switch,” Jason conceded. “Figured as much, anyways.”

“Bullshit!”

Jason gave Thalia a look he thought Nico would be proud of. “Excuse me?”

“I said bullshit,” Thalia declared. “If you want to change your major, then change your major. If that means Dad stops funding you then… that fucking sucks, but I’ll help you. And in the meantime, I’ll help keep things quiet so they don’t find out.”

“Thalia, are you serious?”

“Fuck yeah I am,” Thalia said, sounding even more determined. “Listen, I’m not going to let them ruin your life, Jason. If you keep one with politics, or business, or _whatever_ it is they’re planning for you, then you’ll never be happy. You’ll be rich, but not happy, and I don’t want to see that happen.”

Jason smiled in spite of himself. Thalia was, as always, completely right. Jason would  hate whatever career Political Science led him to, and yet he was willing to stick to it just because his Dad was paying. That wasn’t okay, and Jason knew it.

“Alright, I’ll think about it,” he sighed.

“You have a lot to think about,” Thalia teased. “Don’t hurt yourself, baby brother.”

“Oh gee, thanks big sis,” Jason quipped back. She laughed, and Jason chuckled along with her until he heard the key turn in the door. “Oh, Leo’s home.”

“I’ll let you go, then,” Thalia said with a wave of her hand. “Just remember to fill me in when you’re done thinking.”

“Will do, Thalia,” Jason assured, right as Leo walked through the door. “Love you. Talk to you soon.”  

Feeling far better than he had earlier, Jason stood and greeted Leo with a quick hug. His friend looked exhausted, but not exactly upset. Jason figured he needed some time to settle himself, so he went to the kitchen to cook dinner while Leo zoned out in front of the TV. Unfortunately, Jason wasn’t as good of a cook as Leo, so they were left with breakfast for dinner. Hopefully, Leo wouldn’t mind.

Twenty minutes later the two of them were both sitting, stomachs full and eyes heavy, on the couch waiting for the other to start talking. Jason broke the silence first, and told Leo about his calls with Piper and Thalia. Leo gave him a high five when he mentioned the topic of asking Nico out, and Jason felt lucky to have so much support.

“And that was my day. How about you? How’d the invitation go?”

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, shrugging as he set his feet on the coffee table. “I apologized, and she said she’d come.”

“Right.” Jason furrowed his brows. “Is that it?”

“No,” Leo grumbled. “She also lectured me for five straight minutes about my behavior, and declared that she was only going because I seemed to be genuinely sorry, but that she was still mad at me.”

“That sounds understandable.” Then, after a pause: “Are you upset?”

Leo sunk down into his seat. “A little.”

Jason smiled and reached over to ruffle Leo’s hair. “Well, don’t worry. At least she’s coming, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right. At least she’s coming.”

“Right!” Jason said with a nod. Secretly, he was happy Calypso wasn’t too easy on him. It was good for Leo to face his mistakes. “So, let’s go over the guest list. How many ‘yes’ responses do we have so far?”

 

A couple weeks later Jason found himself asking Nico to go Christmas shopping with him the day before Thanksgiving. Leo had already asked him to pick up the turkey from a shop downtown so that he could finish the preparations, and Jason figured that he might as well buy some gifts for the family while he was there. If Nico came with him, that meant they could go to dinner together.

“This is a bit sudden, don’t you think?” Nico asked, sipping at his ridiculously strong coffee. “Are you sure we’ll have enough time to pick up the turkey and get back to your place?”

“If we finish early, yeah,” Jason said with a nod. “We don’t have to finish my list, either. I just want to start so that I’m not scrambling to find gifts during finals.”

Nico shrugged. “Sure, then. I’ll go Christmas shopping with you. You can taste test the pomegranate jam, too.”

Jason felt a smile spring to his face. “Are you making it yourself?”

“Maybe,” was Nico’s reply. The tops of his ears were flushed red, and Jason felt like he wanted to do a backflip. “Anyways, make sure to drop by early. Your party starts at four and I don’t want to know what Leo’s willing to do if we’re late.”

So the plans were made. Jason was excited—he was spending the day with Nico, after all—and that excitement lasted until he woke up the next morning and saw how bad the weather was supposed to be. The report said a blizzard was going to move in later in the evening, which would make travel difficult. The snow was already falling rather steadily, though the wind hadn’t quite picked up yet, and Leo and Jason contemplated cancelling. The blizzard wasn’t set to arrive until around nine o’clock, though, and the two decided they were eating early enough for everyone to be able to make it home and avoid the storm.

“Alright, we’ll be back around three o’clock,” Jason informed as he wrapped himself in double the layers. “We’ll call you when we get the turkey.”

“Sounds good. Be safe,” Leo called after him.

With that Jason set out. The ride to Grünerløkka was worse than usual because of the snow. Of course, if any city were prepared for a blizzard it was probably Oslo, but that didn’t mean that made things go any faster. The driver still had to maintain a slow speed to avoid spinning out, and more people were riding than usual, making stops last forever. When Jason finally got off he was almost happy to be out in the storm instead of stuck in an over-crowded public bus.

When Jason arrived at Nico’s apartment Nico was waiting for him with a thermos of hot cocoa. Jason wanted to kiss his face, but instead he showered him with praise and they were out in the cold once more. They needed to make shopping quick, but since no one was really out the stores were all empty, which made Jason’s job easier.

“What do you think of this?” Jason asked, holding up a ridiculously expensive crystal peacock ornament. “My stepmom is crazy for peacocks. Is this pretentious enough?”

“Absolutely pretentious enough,” Nico agreed. “She can hang it on her tree at Christmas and tell all her friends how thoughtful her stepson is.”

Jason snickered and went to make the purchase. Really, it wasn’t that expensive. A little over a hundred, and Jason made sure to pay for it with the credit card his Dad gave him. Jason only used his Dad’s money when he was buying things for his parents. When it came to gifts for his friends or stuff for himself, Jason always paid with his own money.

“Okay, one gift down.”

“Two, remember?” Nico led Jason out of the store and they made their way across the street. “You were going to buy your Dad a pipe.”

“Oh yeah!” Jason had seen it once in passing, and he thought it would be perfect. Not to mention the man could smoke like a steam engine when he was stressed. This was a much better alternative to cigarettes. “Where was that shop again?”

Despite how cold it was Jason was actually in high spirits for the rest of their time out. He managed to find a nice sweater for Piper, and he picked up a pocket watch Leo had gawked at one day while they were out on a pub crawl. All he needed was a gift for Thalia and Reyna, and his list would be complete. Well, almost complete. Jason still had to find something for Nico, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to accomplish that.

Around one o’clock the snow started falling in earnest, so Nico and Jason decided to head back to Nico’s apartment to get some relax before they ventured off to get the turkey. Nico still had to finish his pomegranate jam, and Jason offered to help, but Nico insisted he rest.

“I’m fine. You, on the other hand, look like you need a nap.” Nico nodded toward the screen divider that separated the living area in two. “You can lay down in my room and I’ll wake you up when it’s time to get the turkey.”

“Okay, thanks,” Jason sighed. Nico was right, he was exhausted.

Once he was behind the partition Jason took a moment to observe the small space that Nico considered a bedroom. Directly behind the divider was the bed, pressed up into a corner, and against the parallel wall was Nico’s desk. A dresser, on the back wall between the bed and the desk, was the only other piece of furniture in the space. It was minimalistic, but that suited Jason just fine. He plopped onto the black bedspread (gee, what a surprise) without a second thought, and he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 

“Jason?”

Jason stirred, blinking owlishly up at Nico as he shook him awake. His first instinct was to smile and say something ridiculously cheesy (“Good morning, beautiful.”), but then he remembered where he was and he shot up like a jack-in-the-box.

“Shit, are we late?” he asked, heart pounding so fast he felt sick.

“It’s only three o’clock,” Nico informed.

Jason took a deep breath and collapsed back on the bed. Good. They weren’t late.

“But I do have some bad news.”

Groaning, Jason rubbed at his eyes and sat up again. Nico pointed to the window, where Jason could see nothing but a wall of white. He squinted, trying to figure out whether this was just his mind playing tricks on him, and then he realized that it was snow.

“What happened?”

“The blizzard came early,” Nico sighed. “I was going to wake you up earlier, but… I fell asleep myself.” He was blushing. Oh lord, Nico was embarrassed. Nico was embarrassed, and Jason wanted to hug him.

“Hey, that’s fine. Um… wait, are the buses going?”

Nico shook his head. “I called the station, and everything has been suspended except for emergency transport. Most of the shops should be closed, too.”

“Shit.” That meant they were stuck here until the storm passed. “I gotta call Leo.”

To his credit, Leo answered the phone rather calmly. Jason could hear voices in the background, which meant some people had not only arrived early, but had trudged through the snow in order to get there. Jason felt his gut twist with guilt. He should’ve left earlier.

“Are you stuck?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, looks like all the buses shut down.” Jason huffed. “You know, you’d think they’d be used to the snow?”

Leo snorted. “Right? But man, don’t worry about getting here with the turkey. I’ve got… eleven people here? A lot have cancelled, but I’m far from lonely. Also, the Stolls brought some weird meat thing. They say it’s like a turkey stuffed in a chicken or something.”

“A turducken?”

“Is that a white people thing?” Leo asked. “It looks fucking weird.”

Jason laughed. “Yeah, it’s pretty weird, but it’s not bad. I’m just sorry Nico and I can’t be there.”

“Don’t sweat it, man!” Leo insisted. “I say you two bust out some alcohol, get all personal, and then have wild, passionate sex. After professing your love, of course. It’s gotta be kosher.”

“Leo, shut up.”

Leo chuckled. “Just trying to help, man. Anyways, I should get back to the guests. You and Nico stay warm—by any means possible.”

“Yes, thank you Leo,” Jason said quickly. “I’ll call you later. Bye.”

Jason stuffed his phone back into his pocket, rolling his eyes at Leo’s skill for making every situation possible something inappropriate. There was no way things were going to escalate that far in a single night. Especially not when Jason was in the middle of sorting through a plethora of conflicting emotions.

“Okay, so the good news is he’s not mad!” Jason announced. He turned and found Nico looking at him rather hopefully, with big, brown eyes and eyebrows up to his hairline in an expression of genuine surprise. Jason had to swallow down some sort of overtly affectionate cooing noise and forced a smile. “He says plenty of people showed up with food, so we just need to focus on staying safe and warm.”

“That’s good,” Nico said with a small nod. “I’m glad. I was afraid we’d really fucked up, and… well, I’m just relieved everything turned out okay.”

Jason frowned and wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulder. He watched how Nico tensed, how his eyes trailed from Jason’s hand to his face, and then finally how he leaned ever so slightly into Jason’s touch. Was this euphoria?

“Don’t worry about that,” Jason said, voice soft and affectionate. “Instead, lets worry about food. And maybe booze. Can’t have a snow-in without booze.”

Nico pursed his lips and began walking toward the kitchen, though not at a speed fast enough to brush Jason’s arm off. Jason followed him, keeping him close.       

“I think I’ve got some wine,” he mused. “As for food, I’m sure I can come up with something suitable for Thanksgiving.”

“Allow me to help, then, good sir,” Jason offered, voice dripping with cheesy theatrics. “I can set the table and put out the candles. Perhaps a rose?”

Nico raised a brow, but in the next instant he batted his lashed and sighed like a southern bell. “Why thank you, Mr. Grace. That would be much appreciated.”

Jason tried not to blush too hard as he followed Nico around the kitchen. Really, there wasn’t much for him to do. He opened the wine (holy shit a 2007 Barbaresco, Nico didn’t fuck around), helped put plates on the table, and stoked the old fireplace that Nico said only got used when it was especially cold. Meanwhile, Nico somehow whipped up a meal out of the leftovers in his fridge, and Jason could hear the embarrassing groan of his stomach.

“What did you make?” he asked, walking back over to the table. “Because it smells fantastic.”

“Pan fried chicken in a reduced balsamic sauce with some steamed snow peas on the side,” Nico said, as if it were the easiest thing to make in the world. “The chicken might not be any good, though. I didn’t have fresh cutlets so I used the grilled chicken left over from my dinner last night.”

“Dude, you know you could’ve just heated that up and I would’ve eaten it no problem?” Jason asked, though he was grinning like an excited, hungry fox. “Not that I don’t appreciate the effort.”

Nico just shrugged and took his place at the table. “It’s Thanksgiving. As problematic as the holiday is, I think it’s important to celebrate it right.” He flushed, and added, “Even if it’s just the two of us.”

Jason couldn’t help the happy coil that tightened in his stomach. Nico was right. This was a special occasion and they had every right to celebrate in style.

“I agree. To us, then, and to Thanksgiving. Cheers.”

“Salute,” Nico murmured, tapping his glass against Jason’s.

“And as a Thanksgiving tradition,” Jason continued, “I would like to tell you that…” he stopped, hesitating a moment. “I’m thankful… to have met you, and to have become _your_ friend, because you’re a dear friend of mine.”

Nico smiled, though—a very small and happy smile. “I’m thankful to have met you, too. You’re probably one of the best friends I’ve ever made.”

[Jason](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLwccfUjdUk) almost dropped his glass, but he put on a brave face and drank his wine like the fumbling, head-over-heels fool he was. Throughout dinner Jason contemplated telling Nico how he felt. Sometimes they’d look at each other, and Nico’s expression was so open and carefree that Jason wanted to say something, but he always backed out in the end. Faced with hours of being stuck in Nico’s apartment with nowhere to go, Jason didn’t want to risk making a move too soon. Instead, he showered Nico with compliments and drew laughs from him that made even the blizzard seem like a small problem. Everything was alright with Nico there.

After they finished eating Jason helped Nico wash the dishes. It took longer than it probably should have, because Jason kept making Nico roll his eyes and set his plates down to give him a good lecture, but it was probably the most fun Jason had had doing chores in his entire life. When everything was clean Nico grabbed the bottle of wine and gestured Jason to the couch, where the two young men settled facing each other, legs entwined as they shared a quiet moment.

“Truth or dare?” Nico asked, after the silence had drifted for a while.

Jason licked his lips, now probably purple and definitely dry, and answered with truth. Nico squinted at him and thought for a moment, which was very cute considering Nico was flush tipsy and his thoughts likely weren’t coming in clear, but eventually he came up with a question and Jason leaned forward to hear it.

“Are you gona change your major, or what?”

Jason laughed, loud and full, and settled against the arm of the couch. “So you _were_ planning it the whole time.” Nico grumbled something inaudible and nudge Jason to answer. “Okay okay, fine. I don’t know. Do you think I should?”

“Absolutely,” Nico said almost immediately. “You’d do so well in the community welfare field. I’ve seen you. I know you. You’d be great.”

Jason chuckled and moved Nico’s foot back onto the couch from where it had fallen off the side. Is that what he’d do if he got a sociology major? Work as some community organizer, or maybe as a director in a non-profit dedicated to bettering people’s lives? Jason kind of liked the sound of that.

“Your turn,” Nico urged, pointing with the foot that was still in Jason’s hand.

“Mm, what do you miss most about home?” Jason asked. He began to massage the foot that was in his hand, being sure to watch Nico’s face for any sign of displeasure.

“We’re playing truth or dare, Jason,” Nico admonished.

“Fine then,” Jason said, putting pressure on Nico’s arches. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth!”

Jason chuckled, tickling at Nico’s ankle from under his sock. Nico kicked at him playfully, but Jason simply grabbed that foot and gave it the same treatment as the other.

“My question stands, then. What do you miss most about home?”

Nico’s head dipped back, so Jason couldn’t see his face. As Nico thought, Jason continued rubbing out the tension in the arches and pads of his companion’s feet, always mindful of when something tickled or hurt by the way Nico twitched. He was a little drunk right now, otherwise this probably wouldn’t be happening, but Jason couldn’t help but be excited by the intimacy of their positon. Really, could it be easier than this?

“I miss my sister,” Nico finally admitted. “She’s my best friend. When I was at my worst, she showed up and suddenly it was like I had a purpose again. The purpose to be her big brother.”

Jason thought back to the pictures on the wall, to the old photograph of him and the young girl opening presents on Christmas day, and for some reason things didn’t add up. Nico didn’t talk about his sister, though. Whenever Jason brought the topic up, even just in reference to his own sister, Nico tried to distract him with something else. But Jason wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about Nico, and having such an important piece missing bothered him.

“Truth or dare?” Nico asked.

“Truth.”

The game went on like that for a while, and eventually they dropped the premise of ‘truth or dare’ in favor of exchanging questions. Everything, of course, was at first light hearted. Questions about first crushes, and embarrassing moments, and favorite this or that. Then, as one bottle of wine very slowly turned to two, things got more personal. They talked about their sexualities, their experiences with sex, their fears and biggest secrets. It was a moment of bonding they hadn’t yet shared, and perhaps might not have shared had it not been for the unpredictable weather and the lack of care a bit of good wine could bring. Whatever the case, this moment solidified the friendship they’d been building in the way that only knowing a person’s most intimate, personal details, and knowing that they, too, know yours, can bring.

“Can I ask you one more question, Nico?” Jason asked. His head was swimming a bit, though he’d put his last glass down a couple rounds ago.

Nico, who had been nursing his fourth glass for a while, merely nodded and brought the blanket up round his shoulders. They’d gone to get a throw sometime around the end of the first bottle, and it served well to keep them warm as the storm raged outside.

“If you feel comfortable answering… what happened with your sister?”

For a moment, Nico stared at Jason, and Jason couldn’t tell if he was glaring or not. He’d never asked about Nico’s sister directly, and perhaps Nico believed there was an unspoken agreement to not bring it up. But no, Jason realized soon after that Nico wasn’t angry. He was just trying very hard not to cry.

“Which sister do you want to know about?” he asked, voice thick and low.

Jason frowned. “Whichever one you want to tell me about.”

Nico nodded. He sat up, putting his wine glass down and drawing his legs close to his chest. Jason instantly missed the feeling of having them wrapped around his own. Nico looked anxious, though, and Jason didn’t voice his disappointment despite how inebriated he was.

“My younger sister is Hazel. She’s the girl you see in all my pictures,” Nico said, quietly pointing to the wall. “She was born from an affair my Dad had while visiting France, before he and my Mom were officially married. We didn’t know she existed until I was thirteen, though. That’s when she showed up at our door, birth certificate in hand, and told my father she wasn’t leaving until he listened to her.”

“Sounds like quite the young lady,” Jason said, smiling slightly.

Nico nodded. “Yeah, she’s a spitfire alright. I’m four years older than her but she likes to boss me around.” Nico looked at Jason, smiling wide. “She’s in her junior year of high school right now, and she’s already got scholarships lined up for college. She’s damn smart and the hardest worker you’ll ever meet.”

Jason reached out to take Nico’s hand, holding it for a while as Nico went on about Hazel. After a couple minutes, filled with nonstop excited brother bragging, he seemed to grow tired. Jason let him rest his head on the back of the couch and began to absently run his thumbs along the folds of Nico’s palm.

“You’re really proud of your little sister, huh?” Jason asked.

“Mm… like I said, she’s my best friend,” he mumbled. “She was there to save me when I almost gave up on everything.”

Jason set his head down, his forehead almost touch Nico’s, and his hands working diligently at smaller, paler fingers. “Why did you almost give up?” Jason asked, voice quiet.

“Because,” Nico whispered. His voice was fragile now. “I lost my big sister.”

“Bianca?”

Nico nodded. His brows furrowed and his eyes glazed over with tears. Jason got one of his hands free and wrapped that arm around Nico’s back, pulling him closer. Nico didn’t resist.

“She was three years older than me, so it always felt like I was running to catch up to her. I loved her so much, and after our Mom died I got needy and never left her alone. She got annoyed with me a lot for it, but I knew she still loved me even if she didn’t want to talk to me sometimes.”

Jason hummed in response, the hand on Nico’s back going to rub in small circles.

“When I was young she hung out a lot with Percy, this kid in our neighborhood who was just a year older than me. Percy always liked to go out ‘adventuring’, and he’d bring Bianca and some of the older kids with him wherever he went. I was never allowed to go because I was too young, and I always got so jealous and refused to talk to Bianca for hours whenever she was getting ready to leave. I just wanted to be able to hang out too, you know? I didn’t know why my sister or the others didn’t want me coming, so I was a brat about it all the time.

“One day… I promised myself I wouldn’t forgive Bianca when she came home, and that I’d stay mad at her until she apologized. I was only ten and it was the dumbest thing in the world, but to me she deserved it. Later… later that day, after Bianca was late getting home I… I heard…”

Nico was taking short, harsh breaths that Jason recognized as the onset of a panic attack. Jason tried to calm him down, to tell him that he didn’t have to keep talking, but Nico just grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. His breathing calmed a bit, not a lot but just enough, and Jason’s thumb ran over the back of Nico’s hand in a steady, comforting pattern.

“I heard there had been an accident. From my stepmother,” Nico admitted. “She told me… Bianca was at the hospital, and she drove me to see her. My Dad was there, which surprised me because he never left work early, and at that moment I started to feel afraid.”

“What happened?” Jason asked, not being able to stop himself.

“Negligent driver.” Nico spat the words out like they were bleach, reminding Jason vividly of when he’d talked about his mother. “Apparently the guy had a bad case of road rage and ran a stop sign. He hit Bianca, and she went flying.”

“Nico…”

“She didn’t even last until I got there,” Nico moaned, voice cracking. “She died as soon as she reached the hospital, and my Dad had been the only one there to say goodbye to her. After that, after all the stupid shit I thought earlier that day and how fucking childish I had acted, I felt like the worst human being in existence. I felt—” Nico gasped, his whole body shaking with the effort to maintain calm. “I felt like it should’ve been me.”

“Nico, please don’t,” Jason whispered into Nico’s hair. He didn’t even want to think of the possibility of Nico and his sister switching places.

“But it wasn’t fair,” Nico whimpered. “She didn’t deserve that. She was—she was such a _good_ person. She had so many chances in life, Jason.”

“And so do you, Nico. So do you,” Jason insisted. “Please don’t think that you don’t, because I don’t think I could ever find all the right words to tell you how _important_ you are.”

Nico let out a small, ugly sound as he leaned further into Jason. Jason held him tighter, using both arms now instead of one to keep Nico steady and close. He was trying so hard not to cry, and Jason knew that. But he shouldn’t have to.

“I don’t care if you cry, Nico,” Jason spoke softly, his hands stroking a trembling back. “I’ll still be here if you cry.”

And like that, Nico broke down. Big, enveloping sobs left him as he folded himself as small as possible against Jason’s chest. Jason held him and listened to the high pitched cries, and he understood why Nico never mentioned his sister when he’d been so open about his mother. It was a much deeper wound. One that came from losing someone who gave you so much of who you are, only to leave you feeling gouged out and alone in their absence. Nico was crying for Bianca, but he was also crying for himself, and the toll the loss had taken on him after her death.

Slowly, carefully, Jason pulled Nico down until they were lying flat. He adjusted the blanket so that Nico was covered, wanting to make sure that he was comfortable at the very least. As Nico cried, leaving a large wet dot in the center of Jason’s chest, Jason ran his fingers through his hair and whispered reassuring things in his ear. He wasn’t sure how long they laid there, but when Nico was finally reduced to small hiccups and the occasional shudder Jason ventured to pull back and offer a smile.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Nico shook his head and wiped furiously at his eyes and nose. Even after all that, he was embarrassed to have cried. Jason just sighed and pulled Nico to him once more, and there Nico settled without protest.

“What am I going to do with you?” Jason muttered. His hands played with a lock of Nico’s hair, and Nico’s feet moved restlessly against his. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Then let me sleep,” Nico mumbled, voice hoarse from his cries. “Let me sleep, and you can stay with me.”

Jason smiled and nuzzled the crown of Nico’s head. “Deal.”

“Good.”

The blizzard didn’t halt until the sun came up the next morning, but Nico and Jason were oblivious to it all. They laid together, legs tangled and noses pressed to necks and ears, in the deep sleep that alcohol and a good cry will bring. What would happen when they woke up didn’t matter, because at least for now they had the comfort of the other’s unconditional affection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness gracious I made a deadline! I'm so excited to have finally gotten to this part of the story. The Thanksgiving snow-in has been planned for a while, and it killed me to have to cut it last chapter. Finally, though, here it is! I hope you all got your healthy dose of Nico and Jason this time around. Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	7. Decision to Decisions Are Made and Not Bought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both stood at the same time, and Nico just looked up at him awkwardly for a moment before opening his arms. Jason stepped into them without a second thought. For the first time that week he felt secure—like all of his worries would fade with time and that in the end he’d still have people there to love him. Jason buried his face in Nico’s shoulder and sighed, and when Nico started rubbing his back in slow, steady circles he maybe almost cried.

Jason woke up the next morning to empty arms and [the smell of fresh coffee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=892Z6nvxwvs). He sat up, disoriented in the way that sleeping in a strange place and being slightly hung-over will make you, and looked around the small apartment until he spotted what (or rather who) he was looking for.

Standing at the stove in a pair of skull-print, fleece pajama bottoms was Nico. He was flipping pancakes and whistling a Christmas tune that Jason recognized but couldn’t quite remember. For a moment Jason marveled at the fact that Nico was the type to whistle while cooking, and then he realized Nico was also _totally_ the type to whistle Christmas songs the _day after Thanksgiving_. Oh, he was so going to gush to—er… tell Leo about this.

Jason got up from the couch and padded across the cold hardwood to the kitchen, humming along as bits and pieces of Nico’s song came to him.

Nico, startled by the sudden duet, flipped a pancake a bit too high and cursed when it hit the vent. “For such a big guy you would think you’d make more noise moving around.”

“Would you believe me if I told you I took ballet as a child?” Jason asked, voice still hoarse from sleep.

Nico looked over his shoulder with one brow raised. “Absolutely not.”

Jason laughed. “Okay, that one was bad.”

“Mmm, well I didn’t expect your homophobic stepmother to let her darling stepson do something as emasculating as ballet.”

“For shame,” Jason chuckled.

“Lord forbid it make you _gay_ or something.”

“Oh yes, _imagine_ that! Me, liking men? When I’ve already dated women?”

“Exactly,” Nico agreed as he finished plating the final pancake, “because everyone knows you can’t like _both_.”

“Not that _that’s_ the issue,” Jason sighed.

Nico turned, food in hand. “Fuck the issue. And your stepmom.”

Jason took the stack of pancakes from Nico with a smile so wide it could split the sun. They locked eyes for a moment—a playful, electric energy running between them—and Jason could’ve sworn he felt his heart jump-start like car engine. What was that? Nico looked away and reality reclaimed the moment that felt too short and eons long, leaving both young men confused and excited.

“Coffee?” Nico offered.

“With cream and sugar, please.”

They sat down to breakfast a bit awkwardly after that. There were a few minutes of silent chewing and unnecessary small talk, all likely brought on by whatever the fuck **that** had been just now, and Jason had to grasp for something to bring them back to the banter they’d been exchanging earlier.

He settled on Nico’s pajamas.

“So when did you start dressing like a thug?”

“You like?” Nico asked. “One-hundred-percent genuine mortal soul. Got ‘em at Target.”

“Very avant-garde,” Jason remarked with a tone of severity. “I bet you’re the envy of thousands.”

“Millions!”

“Oh, yes of course!” Jason fawned. “But do tell—when did you wake up and decide you wanted to be a one-man runway show?”

Nico sighed. “Shortly after the storm stopped, I think. I didn’t get up for a while, though.”

Jason felt himself fidget at the implication of Nico’s confession. Did that mean Nico had laid silently awake in his arms for an undisclosed amount of time as Jason obliviously slept on? Even though he was kicking himself for not being awake to hold (cuddle?) a conscious Nico, Jason felt satisfied in knowing that Nico was comfortable enough to use him as a human teddy-bear for a while.

“And how are you feeling?” Jason asked, eager to steer the conversation away from their sleeping arraignments.

Nico rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Jason. A little hung over, but otherwise fine.” He then paused, looked Jason once over, and added: “Though that’s no thanks to you, you rat bastard.”

“Me?” Jason exclaimed. “I’m innocent here!”

“Don’t pull that bullshit on me,” Nico chided, though he was smiling. “Twice I’ve invited you to my house, and twice you’ve somehow turned me into a sobbing child.”

“Hey…” Jason knew Nico was joking but that didn’t stop him from becoming a flustered mess. “I can promise you it won’t happen again!”

Nico shook his head. “Oh trust me, that’s not enough. I’ll get my revenge, Jason. Just you watch.”

Jason didn’t know whether to be slightly intimidated or very amused, so he went with what was more comforting. “And how exactly are you going to get back at me?”

“I’m going to make you cry,” Nico stated around a mouthful of pancake. “Twice.”

“I’m gona cry now if you don’t stop bullying me.”

“Shut up and eat your breakfast, Jason.”

Conversation passed much easier after that. They both took some Aspirin for their headaches, enjoyed the entire stack of pumpkin pancakes Nico had made, and Jason had at least two cups of coffee to Nico’s four. By the time they finished eating and cleaning the dishes it was almost noon. Jason didn’t want to leave, but Nico hadn’t invited him to stay and he had a class at two. So, after a couple last-ditch efforts to make his visit last as long as possible, Jason headed to the door with the gifts he’d bought the day before and slipped back into his boots.

“Make sure to tell Leo I’m sorry about missing the party,” Nico said as he opened the front door. “But if he says anything smart I want you to kick him for me.”

“Duly noted,” Jason replied. “Though to be honest he’ll probably say something that’ll make me want to kick him, anyway.”

“Aw Jason, don’t beat him unnecessarily,” Nico drawled. “How will Santa get the gifts ready in time for Christmas if one of his elves is out of commission?”

Jason snorted. “Wow! And I thought I was mean.”

“I’m a bully, remember?” Nico teased. “Now hurry up and get out of here. If I keep the door open any longer I’ll lose all my heat.”

“Alright, I’m leaving!” Jason said as he crossed the threshold. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yeah yeah. Just get home safe.”

Jason smiled and stopped halfway out the door. He turned, now once again facing Nico, and set his shopping bags on the ground.

“What?” Nico asked, eyeing Jason cautiously.

“Can I just _hug_ you?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Oh God, Grace.”

“Nico,” Jason insisted, arms now wide open. “Seriously.”

If Nico rolled his eyes one more time Jason was convinced they’d pop out of his head. Instead he just grunted “This better not become a _thing_ , Jason” and Jason pulled him into the tightest, most enthusiastic hug he’d given in a long time. He probably wouldn’t have let go, either, if Nico hadn’t dramatically wheezed in his ear and begged to be let down.

“Was that so hard?” Jason asked, expression now bright enough to power a city.

“You do that in public and I’ll make sure you can never hug again,” Nico warned. Then he smiled. “Have a good day, Jason.”

“You too, Nico.”

It didn’t really matter that there was five feet of snow on the ground and that Jason was now going to miss another day of classes. He got to hug Nico Di Angelo, and life couldn’t be better.

 

“Leo, I’m home!”

“About fucking time, you animal!” Leo called from somewhere in the kitchen. “Did you stay for another ten rounds or did you two just cuddle all morning?”

Jason groaned. He was definitely going to kick Leo for that comment.

“If you don’t stop being a little shit I’m taking your gift back,” Jason threatened. He quickly stuffed the shopping bags in his closet and moved into the living room. Leo had the kitchen pass-through open, and Jason could see him riffling through the fridge taking out containers of leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. “Making lunch?”

“You bet. Everyone who showed up brought great food and they let us keep it all when they left this morning.”

“They spent the night?” Jason asked.

Leo opened a tub of what looked to be sweet potato pie and loaded a spoonful on his plate. “Some of them. Mostly the guys. Katie—you know how she lives in our building—she invited the girls to stay at her place, so it was really only the Stolls’, Jake, Michael, and Mitchell.”

“Sounds like a party,” Jason said, smirking as he leaned on the counter.

Leo barked a laugh and put his fully-loaded plate in the microwave. “We ended up playing Cards Against Humanity when we finished eating.”

“Okay?”

Leo’s eyes flashed mischievously. “Travis made whoever didn’t win take a shot of Patron.”

Jason’s grin grew. “How many rounds?”

“Fifteen total. I won twice. Nyssa got so drunk she threw up in Connor’s lap.”

For almost two whole minutes Jason laughed so hard he thought he’d piss himself. He was actually kind of disappointed that he hadn’t been there to see that. When Leo informed him that Travis had immediately shouted ‘Party foul!’ right after the accident Jason had tears in his eyes. Leave it to the Stoll Brothers to make a girl like Nyssa lose her dinner during a game of Cards Against Humanity.

“So, even without our Superman we had a good time,” Leo taunted. “In fact, if you and Nico had shown up I’m pretty sure the entire party would’ve been ruined.”

“Aw what?” Jason asked, still chuckling. “Why’d you say that?”

“Because I’m absolutely convinced you would have carried that boy into your room caveman-style after three shots of tequila.”

“Leo!”

“Okay, maybe four shots. You always do better with clear liquors than darks.”

“First of all, we’re not turning this into an opportunity for you to make fun of my alcohol tolerance,” Jason said, pointing an accusing finger at his friend. “Second of all, knock it off with all this sex talk.”

“Why?” Leo asked, cheeks stuffed with food. “Did you wana keep your romance ‘pure’? Because if you and Nico end up together there is a high probability that he’s gona wana screw. I mean, maybe that’s not his thing, but if it is—”

“Oh my God,” Jason groaned. “No, that’s not it. I just think that things are complicated enough as it is without my dick being involved.”

Leo snickered. “Gettin’ a bit restless there, Jason?”

Jason narrowed Leo with an exasperated glare. While his libido wasn’t quite as needy as his friend liked to joke, Jason was still a healthy, twenty year old man who sometimes found himself in states of frustrating arousal. He didn’t _need_ to have his desires met, but he also didn’t want Leo to point them out all the time. At least Jason knew how to get back at him.

“How was Calypso?” he asked. “Did she show up?”

“Yes,” Leo replied.

Jason raised a brow at Leo’s brevity. “Yes? That’s it?”

“What do you want me to say?” Leo asked. His eyes were locked on his plate and he was shoveling food into his mouth at a much more steady pace. “Calypso came, she ate dinner, she played Cards, and she went to stay at Katie’s for the night.”

“Oh…” Jason would be lying if he said that’s what he expected. “Well, that’s go—”

“And she gave me a hug before she left.”

Impish brown eyes locked with blue and Jason felt himself grin with brotherly pride. He reached over the counter and pulled Leo into a headlock, forcing Leo to plant a hand right in the middle of his not-yet-empty plate in order to keep his balance. Jason got shoved for that, but the two of them were laughing and Leo was pink as petal in the prime of spring.

“So you two are back on good terms?” Jason asked.

“Should be,” Leo replied. “I definitely don’t think she’s ready to date me or anything, but we’re friends again and… you know?” Here Leo leveled Jason with an earnest smile. “You’re kind of right. Sometimes it’s so nice to be friends that you don’t mind not being more than that.”

Jason’s smile faltered. Oh, had he said that? He chuckled nervously. Leo’s expression turned questioning. Jason could feel his cheeks literally burning under the scrutiny.

“So you mind now?”

If there was ever an understatement…

“I think I’m done for, Leo. I can pretend I’m okay with it all I want, but I’m going to let something slip sooner or later, and Nico’s too perceptive to not figure it out.”

Leo sighed. “Looks like it’s time to actually get serious about this, then.” He walked around until he was next to Jason in the living room, and Jason followed him over to the couch. “Now then, tell me what finally jarred your brain.”

They ended up talking about the night before for almost an hour. Leo was attentive throughout, and when Jason was finally exhausted by the overwhelming decision before him Leo left him with an insightful piece of advice.

“Whichever decision you make, just make sure it’s the one that leaves you the least unsatisfied in the end. Sadness, loss, rejection—that shit goes away over time. The ‘what-ifs’ never do.”

 

For the next few days Leo’s words swam around in Jason’s head like fish in a tank. Besides serving as a constant fire under his butt in relation to the “Nico Decision”, Jason found that Leo’s advice also got him thinking a lot about his major. As it was now, he was preparing for a job in either business or politics. Neither options were appealing, and Jason had known that for a long time now.

So why not change? Obviously the stars had aligned to bring Sociology to him. If he hadn’t decided to study abroad last minute, if he hadn’t met Nico, if he hadn’t started reading Nico’s papers, if he hadn’t met Professor Smith, if he hadn’t so on and so forth to the point that coincidence wasn’t even likely anymore. Not to mention the people that cared about him—no, not his parents—were all encouraging the switch. They wanted to see him happy, and Jason agreed that on his current path he wasn’t likely to end up that way. So really, what was stopping him?

Well, his Dad was. Or, rather, the fully paid tuition and housing provided by his Dad was stopping him. Jason saw how hard it was to get through college on loans. Leo struggled even though over half of his tuition was paid for through various academic and engineering scholarships. Reyna worked two jobs and took on extra classes just to graduate early and save herself from debt. It sounded privileged, but Jason liked not having to worry about every purchase. The security that came from knowing he’d graduate with a clean slate was hard to give up, even if it meant working in a career he hated for the rest of his life.

Except, now that he really thought about it, was he okay with that? Leo was right: Everything but the ‘what-ifs’ went away eventually. That included debt. It didn’t matter if Jason was fifty thousand dollars in the hole by the time he graduated, because if he ended up at a job he liked he’d never go to work hating himself. At least, that’s what he liked to believe.

The entire situation was delicate, and Jason knew he should probably think on things a little more before he made a decision, but that’s not how it played out.

You see, it all started when Jason went to ask his exchange advisor if it was even possible to change his major while he was studying abroad. She’d told him to email his advisor at NYU, and once everything was okayed all he had to do was bring back the form for their records. Simple enough, and Jason wasn’t even planning on going through with the email until he gave himself some time to mull it over. However, on the way out of the administration building, he happened to run into Professor Smith, and after an enthusiastic, fifteen minute long conversation about _The Sociological Imagination,_ Jason found himself drafting the email on the way back to his apartment. His advisor at home had replied that evening saying all he had to do was switch majors on his student account and fill out the form attached to give to his exchange advisor. One thing led to another, and before Jason knew it he was officially a student in the New York University Department of Sociology.

“Well, I have about a million different things to say about that kind of spontaneous behavior, but I think I’ll just give my congratulations.”

Jason sighed. He’d been hoping that Nico would be able to ease the panic that came from realizing what a stupid, rash decision he’d made. Instead, Nico was all bland responses and quick insights. But maybe that was because he was in the middle of his homework session with Leo.

“Jason, I said you could complain _after_ we were done,” Leo warned. “If you interrupt us one more time I’m making you walk down to the store for milk.”

Jason groaned. It was forty below outside and neither of them drank milk.

“Fine fine, I’ll make dinner. Nico, will you stay?”

Nico looked up from his work and smirked. “Jason Grace, if you leave us in peace I will stay for dinner, and listen to all your worries, and I won’t even charge you a krone.”

“Really?”

“Yes, now go away.”

Jason turned and walked into the kitchen without another word. He made chicken stir-fry and rice pilaf, which took the better part of an hour, and when Leo finally let out his customary sigh of completion there were three hot plates of food waiting on the pass-through counter. All three of them managed to squeeze onto the tiny kitchen table once textbooks and backpacks were removed, and Jason immediately began to unload.

“How the hell am I supposed to tell my Dad?”

“Don’t tell your Dad,” Leo argued. “Let the old bastard pay for college and don’t let him know until you’ve graduated and secured a steady job.”

“Leo, that’s a horrible idea,” Nico said. “I highly doubt Jason can keep this a secret until he graduates, especially if he’s put into a difficult situation units-wise with a mid-year major switch.”

“Oh? Then what do you suggest, Dr. Phil?”

Nico gave Leo ‘a look’ before turning his gaze toward Jason. “I suggest you sit your father down when you go home for break—without your stepmother in the room—and tell him that you’ve made a decision and that you’re going to stick with it whether he supports you or not. Obviously this level of micro-managing indicates that he doesn’t respect you as an adult, so I think the best way to wake him up is to use his own business tactics against him.”

“Offer him an ultimatum!” Leo suggested.

Nico chuckled. “Actually yes, an ultimatum of sorts might be exactly what you need. Present him with the facts and your post-grad plans, and tell him he’s either with your or he’s against you. I mean, you obviously don’t have much leverage besides continuing to be there as his child, but at least you’ll be in control of the situation.”

“You two make it sound so easy,” Jason sighed. “What if my Dad goes postal and tries to sue me or something?”

“It’s not like you signed a contract saying you’d graduate with the major and minor he picked, Jason,” was Nico’s response. “He has no legal grounds to sue you.”

“Besides, I don’t think Juno would be down with that,” Leo added. “As fucking pissed as she’d be, her style is more along the lines of passive-aggressive attempts at sabotage and the cold shoulder.”

“And what happens if they kick me out?”

“Grab your shit and head to Thalia’s,” Leo said. “She’s close enough, and you planned on visiting her anyway, right?”

“I guess… but, what happens if my Dad tries to get his money back for my second semester?”

“If that happens call me,” Nico insisted. He offered no explanation besides that.

Jason wasn’t quite sure what else to say. Leo and Nico had a response to every question, and Jason knew they were trying their hardest to reassure him that he hadn’t made a mistake. It was the sheer unknown of it all that bothered him, though. If someone came up to him and told him that his parents would kick him out and never speak to him again, then he might be okay, but as of now they could literally do anything. Jason had never put himself in such a vulnerable position before, and he realized then that he might have a bit of a control problem.

“Jason,” Nico said, cutting right through the haze of panic spiraling inside of him. “Do you… do you need a hug?”

Jason blinked for a moment as he processed the question. Did he need a hug? Shit, did he ever. Did that mean Nico was offering?

“Yes, I’m offering.”

Jason nodded. “I need a hug.”

They both stood at the same time, and Nico just looked up at him awkwardly for a moment before opening his arms. Jason stepped into them without a second thought. For the first time that week he felt secure—like all of his worries would fade with time and that in the end he’d still have people there to love him. Jason buried his face in Nico’s shoulder and sighed, and when Nico started rubbing his back in slow, steady circles he maybe almost cried.

The moment would have been perfect if the flash of Leo’s phone hadn’t ruined everything. Jason grumbled and flipped his friend off without letting go of Nico, but after Leo took another picture Nico pushed away.

“Those better not end up on facebook,” Nico warned.

“Oh please, you could use a few more pictures on your timeline. Your last selfie is from 2011.”

“Wait, you two are facebook friends?” Jason didn’t even know Nico had a facebook. “Nico, how come you never added me?”

“Um,” Nico shrugged, “It’s not something I use often. Leo asked.”

“Gotta cover the basics, Jay-man.”

Jason huffed. “Fine, I see how it is. I come to you two in my hour of need and you end up rubbing your facebook friendship in my face.”

“I don’t want to rub anything in your face,” Leo stated as he tapped away on his phone. “I don’t know about Nico, though.”

The man in question rolled his eyes. “I think it’s time for me to leave.” He turned to Jason. “Unless, of course, you need to talk more?”

Jason opened his mouth to assure Nico that everything was good, but then a brilliant idea popped into his head. “Nico, why don’t you stay over?”

Why not, right? They had the room, and Jason could run down to the store and get Nico a toothbrush if he wanted. Besides, it was snowing outside and really dark. What would happen if Nico got caught waiting for a bus that never came and he froze to death or something? Jason would be devastated. That was more than enough reason to stay the night. Plus, maybe they could cuddle again. God did Jason want to cuddle again.

Nico didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength, though.

“Sorry, as nice as your offer is I’ve got literally nothing that I need for tomorrow,” Nico said with an apologetic shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe next time you can give me a little warning?”

“Then how about next Wednesday?” Jason asked. “You’re coming over anyway, and I know your first Thursday class is early. It’ll give you a chance to sleep in.”

“You’re being serious?” Nico deadpanned.

Leo scoffed. “Oh, he’s being serious. Trust me.”

After a couple seconds more hesitation Nico finally nodded. “Alright. Next week I guess I’ll bring a bag and stay over.”

“Awesome!” Jason nearly shouted. “We can watch a movie. Your pick.”

“My favorite movie is six hours long,” Nico informed with a small smirk.

“Aw, what? Jason, no!”

“Shut up, Leo.” Jason smiled. “A six hour movie it is. We don’t have a DVD player, but I can hook my laptop up to the TV.”

“Sounds good.” Nico then checked his watch and quickly packed his bag. “For now, though, I really have to go. I actually do have to pick up milk on the way home, and the lady that runs the 7/11 by my place keeps odd hours.”

Jason walked Nico to the door and gave him a quick hug before he could run off. “Thanks again for the help today. Well, for all the help  you’ve been giving, actually.”

Nico smiled and waved him off. “Then consider us even.”

“Really? You’re not even gona make me cry?” Jason asked, amused and flustered and dying for a kiss.

“Oh, I’ll make you cry,” Nico called as he walked down the hall. “When you least expect it!”

Jason watched him until Nico disappeared into the elevator, and after a moment of standing there with a goofy smile on his face he shut the door and walked back into the apartment. If he had a little less sense he would have slid down the door and sighed like a love-struck teenage girl. That’s how Nico made him feel, though. Secure, happy, giddy, and all-too-head-over-heels. It was a disgusting, beautiful kind of emotion that Jason hadn’t felt in a while.

“By the way,” Leo said as soon as Jason plopped onto the couch, “I sent the picture to Thalia and Piper.”

“Dear lord, what did they say?” Jason asked, too happy to hide his smile.

“Piper says, ‘Awww tell Jason his cute is showing’ and Thalia says, ‘Leo you piece of shit get us a better shot of his face’.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like them.”

“Oh, Thalia says she sent the picture to Reyna,” Leo mumbled.

“Wait, what?!”

Out of all of his friends, Jason was not ready to share his love troubles with Reyna. She was notoriously tough on him when it came to his indecisiveness, so Jason had been waiting to tell her about Nico. At the same time she would be hurt if she found out that Jason had been hiding something that big from her, and Jason hated hurting Reyna’s feelings. If he had been the one to tell her then things might’ve gone okay, but finding out through Thalia? Ugh, he was dead.

“What’d she say?”

Leo whistled. “‘Skype in ten minutes.’ Bro you are in so much trouble.”

Jason sighed. “What else is new?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh I'm so sorry about the tardiness and length of this chapter. Last weekend I found myself face-to-face with two different essays due right before break started, and those had to take priority over the chapter, and then after that I played baby-sitter for the duration of Thanksgiving holiday, so that also delayed me. I feel so bad, especially since everyone was so sweet with their comments, even when I was a late butthole about it.
> 
> As for the length this is another one of those building-block chapters. I know you guys love the romance, but Jason's unfortunately has a lot of problems on his plate. I promise you these chapters aren't filler, though. There's a purpose to everything!
> 
> Prepare yourselves for next week's chapter! I promise to have it up, just like I did last time I was late, and if things go the way I'm planning it should be a big one. There is a slight possibility I might have to split it in two (like with the Thanksgiving arc), but we'll see how that goes. Anyways, thank you all so much for your love and support! You guys are all wonderful!


	8. Frigid Fever Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, sorry.”
> 
> “No, it’s okay,” Jason insisted. “I don’t mind.”
> 
> Their gazes caught again. Nico was only about half a foot away, and if Jason wanted to he could just…
> 
> “Oh my God!”

Reyna was carved basalt. Jason imagined that, had she been a statue in an ancient temple, Reyna would not be an insubstantial ornament. It wasn’t within her nature to be one of many faces adorning the temple’s entrance or lining the cavernous halls. No, Reyna would be the symbolically, intricately, painstakingly crafted set of doors that were the last defense to the sacred altar. She was beautiful, but she was also intractable and fiercely protective—both of others and herself.

Yet, Reyna wasn’t made of stone. She was a human being, but her unshakable maturity sometimes fooled Jason into thinking she was invulnerable. That was a mistake. Reyna felt things, and right now Jason could tell she was upset with him for avoiding her.

He’d just finished explaining everything (and by everything, that meant _everything_ ). Nico, his major, the multiple crises he was spinning through in his mind. Jason unloaded in an uncensored, unapologetic storm of words as soon as her face had popped on the screen and her black eyes had narrowed in a silent command to **_talk_**. In a way it was freeing, because now at least all of his closest friends and family knew what was going on in his life. In a way it was exhausting, because by now Jason had run through the story so many times he was at risk of emotional fatigue. Reyna knew, though, and that was the most important thing.

“So you’re going to tell your father?”

“I’m going to try,” Jason professed.

Reyna tilted her chin down and shot Jason a hard glance from below the bridge of her brows.

“Jason.”

Jason leaned back in his desk chair and rubbed at his eyes. He’d moved to his room for this conversation—not necessarily because he didn’t trust Leo to keep quiet, but because he needed room to be the him he was when he was with Reyna.

“Listen, Reyna, I’m not all rainbows and sunshine over this,” Jason shot back. An unusual crackle of irritability joined the frustration that had been growing for the past few days. “I’m fucking terrified of the repercussions. If I get disowned or cut-off or whatever, I’ll have no idea what to do. I’ve never had a job. I’ve never had to pay my own bills. Jesus, Reyna, what if I have to drop out?”

“First of all, you need to calm down,” Reyna said. “Trust me when I say you’ll figure all of that out very quickly—especially if it becomes necessary. Not only that, but you have an enormous support system of people who understand what it’s like to have to survive independently. I’m telling you now that you should **stop** worrying about it.”

Jason let out a gravelly groan of frustration, but after a moment his shoulders slumped, his head lolled forward and he muttered a resigned ‘ok’.

Reyna was right. She, Leo, and Thalia would be more than happy to help him learn how survive without financial support. Jason’s situation, if he was cut off, would be a mere inconvenience compared to the struggle they had to go through to stay on their feet. That didn’t make the situation okay, but it made things a little less scary.

“Ignoring my own instincts regarding the situation,” Reyna continued. “I’m happy you did something for yourself. You deserve more than what your parents wanted for you.”

Jason smiled. “Thanks Reyna.”

“You’re welcome,” she said with a small nod. “Though I still wish you would have consulted me first.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason whined. “Like I said, it all happened pretty fast and I know you don’t like it when I’m being indecisive.”

“You were afraid I would yell at you,” Reyna perceived. “Don’t even pretend you weren’t.”

“Yeah, maybe a little.”

Reyna sighed, and her hard-lined lips turned down in a frown. “Listen Jason, I know you in a way that others don’t. I may seem harsh at times, but try and remember the guy you were back in high school.”

Oh, Jason remembered. He was the football star, straight-A student, class president, homecoming king with control issues and a stick up his ass. His stepmother’s manipulation had been at its height at that point, and with Thalia out of the house and his father constantly away on business Jason had no one to prevent her from molding him into exactly what she wanted him to be. Reyna was the only one that could coax Jason away from the dangerous, robotic cycles he would fall into as a method of coping with the stress. If it weren’t for her, Jason was convinced he would’ve suffered an emotional breakdown within his first semester of college.

“Piper and Leo will always be there to encourage you and hold your hand,” Reyna continued, “but when you need someone to set you right again you should call me. If that means I have to yell at you, then know that I came to that decision with your well-being at heart. I never want to see you go back to the puppet that Juno tried to turn you into.”

“Even if that leaves me tens of thousands of dollars in debt?” Jason asked with a wistful smile.

Reyna shook her head. “By now I’m used to taking care of you. Debt is a small task compared to the years of torment you put me through.”

Jason laughed and Reyna chuckled. Yes, he was different around her—more reminiscent of the leader he’d been when he was a teenager. Things were different now, though. Now, instead of leading others, Jason felt enabled to lead himself. Reyna was the empowerment behind that. She’d been the first one to tell him that no one could decide who Jason Grace was except for Jason Grace, and so whenever she was near Jason fed off her strength and so became stronger himself.

“So what is your consultation on the Nico issue?” Jason asked. “Because I’m really curious to know what you think of the whole thing.”

“He seems very practical,” was Reyna’s first observation. “I don’t think he would have as many problems with your more difficult side as others have had in the past, and at the same time he has enough of his own issues that you’ll get the satisfaction of caring for him. Other than that, you two seem to have good chemistry.”

“So, go for it?” Jason asked.

Reyna pursed her lips. “I can’t say for sure, since my entire opinion of him is based off of your lovesick ramblings.” Jason rolled his eyes. “But I can say that if your feelings are becoming as difficult to manage as you claim, then it’s better to tell him yourself before your actions give you away. If you end up doing something one day and then try to backpedal into platonic territory then he’s just going to become confused and frustrated with you.”

“Yeah, that’s a point,” Jason sighed.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon,” Reyna encouraged. “You never like to leave yourself in limbo for too long.”

“Also a valid point,” Jason said. “Though I do promise to tell you as soon as I make my choice. I’m not going to keep things from you anymore.”

“Good,” Reyna said with a small nod. “Now then, I’m actually going to be late for work if we talk any longer.”

“What, the sandwich place?”

“No, a restaurant. I was able to get hired as a server,” Reyna sighed.

“That’s good!” Jason knew Reyna had been looking for a waitress job for a while now. “Do you like it?”

Reyna’s eyes flickered with a brief pass of frustration. Jason got it. She was a proud young woman studying for a degree in business. She wanted to be running things, not working for minimum wage and lousy tips and people that couldn’t care less what she wanted out of life. Reyna would never admit it, but she thought that kind of stuff was below her potential. Jason believed it, too.

“It’s fine. It’s a paycheck, you know?” Reyna got out of her chair and leaned over the computer. “Anyway, I have to get ready. I’ll talk to you later, Jason.”

“Sounds good, Reyna,” Jason called. “Have a good shift. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

Reyna was carved basalt. She was strong, and bold, and absolutely impenetrable, and once polished she shined like an elegant, profound piece of art.

 

A week passed, and with finals approaching nerves were high as ever. Jason might have switched over to Sociology as a major, but to make up for all the credits he’d acquired over the past two years he decided to keep Political Science and Economics as his minors. He would be able to finish the two degrees off if he did well on his exams, and so the stress was ever the same as it always was come the end of a term.

Leo was in a similar boat. On top of studying, he also had to worry about getting housing for the upcoming spring semester at NYU. From the start they knew he wouldn’t be able to afford a full year abroad, so now Leo was scrambling to get his housing application in and approved before the school closed for break.

Needless to say, a six hour movie break was very much appreciated in these trying times. Jason cooked while Nico and Leo finished their final assignment for math, and once the food was ready and the computer was set up they were settled in for the long-haul.

“What’s this movie called again?” Leo asked, cheek stuffed with grilled chicken.

“La Meglio Gioventù,” Nico replied. “The Best of Youth in English. It’s got a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.”

“No shit?” Leo said, quieting as the movie transitioned to the opening scene.

For the first hour or so they were all so burned out that no one talked. They just ate, watched the movie, and allowed themselves to get lost in the troubles of characters remarkably like themselves. It was extraordinary for Jason. He saw his struggles in Matteo and his heart in Nicola, and to watch them stumble through their twenties with as much uncertainty and confusion as he was currently going through was cathartic.

Sometime around the riot scene in the street of Turin Nico got up to put the dishes away. Both Jason and Leo sat rapt, watching as Giulia admitted to Nicola that they were having a child in the paradisiacal courtyard of a stranger’s home while war raged on the streets outside. When Nico returned he sat closer to Jason than he had initially, and they shared the next hour inches apart while the years rolled by on the screen.

During several parts of the second half of Act 1 Jason was close to tears. He didn’t want either Leo or Nico to tease him, but this movie was way too real to not strangle your most guarded emotions from their well-protected cages. At one point Jason was about ready to get up under the guise of getting something to drink, but then he felt Nico rest his head against his shoulder and suddenly he couldn’t find it within himself to leave.

As Act 1 came to a close Nico paused the movie. Jason stared at him. His heart beat fast like the rapid, rapid, rapid footfalls of someone running through an echoing hallway. His eyes stung and his mouth was dry, and he wanted to get up and take a minute to anchor himself to reality. He also wanted to urge Nico to continue, but one look at the tired smile on the young man’s face was enough to indicate that they needed a short intermission.

“Shit, who knew so much could happen when nothing is happening?” Leo mumbled as he got off the floor and walked to the kitchen. “Do you guys want something to drink.”

Jason didn’t stop looking at Nico. The tired smile had turned into a confused frown, and the two were just looking at each other, trying to communicate but not yet having what they needed to know how.

“Let me help you, Leo,” Jason called.

He stood and finally looked away from Nico. He could hear Nico following him into the kitchen, and when their eyes met again the earlier… tension was gone. Thank goodness.

“So what happens in part two?” Leo asked as he set the tea kettle on the stove. “Does someone get shot? Does Giulia murder her daughter?”

“I’m not telling you,” Nico retorted with a snort. “You’re just going to have to sit through it for the next three hours.”

Leo groaned. “Shit, what time is it?”

“Eight thirty,” Jason said. “Maybe we can set some blankets and pillows up in the living room so we can get to sleep as soon as the movie ends.”

“I call the couch!” Leo proclaimed almost immediately. “You two losers can cuddle on the floor.”

Jason flushed. “Dude!”

“Relax, Jason,” Nico said, patting him on the arm. “I’m alright with the floor. We can talk shit about Leo without him hearing a thing.”

“Oh ha fucking ha,” Leo mocked. The kettle whistled and he poured three cups of water for them and pulled a tub of cocoa powder from the pantry. “You better watch it or I’ll spit in your drink.”

“Excuse me, sir, I’d like to speak to your manager,” Nico scoffed. “This is deplorable behavior.”

Jason snorted and opened another pantry door to retrieve the marshmallows. “Watch out, Leo. Nico’s going to get you fired.”

“What a shame,” Leo deadpanned. He mixed the cocoa into their cups, and once properly stirred, Jason added the marshmallows. Nico thanked them both and led the trio back into the living room.

Before they resumed their movie session Jason went to grab the duvet and pillow from his bed. Leo had done the same, and when they emerged from their rooms—arms full of fort-material and dressed in their pajamas—they found that Nico had already created a small nest on the floor and was sipping at cocoa while browsing his phone.

“Dude, skull pajamas?” Leo asked, the corner of his mouth quirked up in critique of Nico’s fashion choices.

“Says the guy with a Bob the Builder blanket,” Nico retorted. “I thought they stopped making those when we were twelve.”

“Okay, Bob is the shit, excuse you,” Leo huffed. He threw his pillow haphazardly onto the couch, flung back into a comfy position, and wrapped the controversial blanket around himself. “He’s way better than skulls.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Nico shrugged. His eyes turned to Jason and he frowned. “And I see you’re just as P.B. Teen as I was expecting.”

“What?” Jason spread his plain, boring, blue duvet down next to Nico’s black blanket. “I’m twenty years old, Nico.”

“ _I’m_ twenty years old,” Leo said, whacking Jason on the head with his pillow.

“No, you’re twelve,” Jason declared. “I am a grown man, and as such I’m not going to have cartoons plastered all over my sleepwear.”

“Boring,” Leo and Nico chimed at the exact same time.

The two looked at each other—well, actually glared might be a more appropriate word—and Nico quickly went to turn the movie back on as Jason snickered and tried not to spill hot cocoa all over his crotch.

Once the movie started, and little Sarah was back on screen with her doting, single father, all three boys were back to silence. For the first full hour Jason was only partially occupied by what was happening. At one point he had moved his arm to lay against the couch behind him, and after only a few minutes Nico leaned back and accidentally rested his head against the still appendage.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Jason insisted. “I don’t mind.”

Their gazes caught again. Nico was only about half a foot away, and if Jason wanted to he could just…

“Oh my God!”

Both Jason and Nico jumped at Leo’s sudden exclamation. When Jason turned to look back at the TV he saw that something had happened with Mirella, and by the look on Leo’s face Jason realized his friend was completely oblivious to what he’d just interrupted. Fuck.

But Nico didn’t move his head, and Jason didn’t move his arm. They stayed like that for the next thirty minutes.

Until _it_ happened.

“Holy fucking shit!”

“Did he just—?”

“Oh my God!”

“Nico, did he just—?”

“You fucking bastard! I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!”

Jason was sucked back into the movie like a boat in a whirlpool. Nico’s triumphant smirk was more than indication that he had just been _waiting_ for this moment. Neither Leo nor Jason had expected it, and yet both of them were planning to sit Piper down and force her to watch this movie as they waited for four hours in anticipation of her shock.

Of course the successive scenes were fucking depressing. Leo actually ran to get a box of Kleenex when the mother broke down. When Nicola told Georgia, Jason grabbed a handful of tissues for himself. The two sniffled throughout the next half hour of the film, and as time moved on the two found themselves utterly absorbed in the unfolding events surrounding the two Carati brothers.

By the final hour Nico was passed out cold against Jason’s shoulder. Leo was ready to fall asleep, but he kept starting awake to see what would happen at the end. Jason was the only one alert. He absently began twisting strands of Nico’s hair between his fingertips as he watched, and Leo whispered something about being a smooth criminal once but he hadn’t gotten to finish his sentence because the mother had died and he was too busy grabbing for the tissues again. When the credits finally rolled it took both of them a moment to gather the shattered pieces of their expectations in the wake of their collective experience.

“Dude, Nico can pick movies whenever he wants.”

“You’re telling me,” Jason murmured.

He carefully laid Nico down on his makeshift bed and got up to turn off the lights and his computer. It was a good thing the movie was on Netflix, because Jason had a list of people he wanted to recommend it to. Convincing them to watch all six hours was going to be the hard part.

“Man, he’s really asleep,” Jason heard Leo mutter. He turned and saw Leo poking at really-asleep Nico’s shoulder, and Jason rushed over to swat his friend’s hand away.

“Knock it off, man,” Jason sighed. He took a moment to adjust Nico’s blanket and pillow, and then settled into his own fort of fluff. “He’s just as tired as the rest of us. Let him get the sleep he needs.”

Leo chuckled into the darkness. “Do you wana be his boyfriend or his Mom, Jason?”

Jason groaned. “Shut up, Bob the Builder.”

“Harsh!”

Jason snorted, and the room fell silent. A couple times he heard Leo shuffling above him, but after what was probably fifteen minutes or so he stilled. Only Jason remained awake. He stared at the ceiling, eyes lidded but mind running, and watched the lights flicker across the painted, white walls until everything was black.

 

[At some indistinct hour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pto68TqHxKg) of the morning Jason was shaken out of sleep. He blinked, eyes adjusting to open darkness that was somehow more shocking than the backs of his eyelids, and after a moment he was able to see Nico above him.

“What’s wrong?” he slurred. He propped himself on his elbows, concerned but also dead exhausted.

“Bad dream,” Nico whispered. “Not to sound four or anything, but can I sleep with you?”

Jason just nodded and held up the corner of his duvet. Nico slipped in next to him without a word, and in no time they were settled in a comfortable arrangement that provided them both with the room they needed (though whether or not that room was _wanted_ was a different issue).

“Good?” Jason asked, lids already drooping on him.

Nico nodded, but after a moment he shuffled closer and rested his head against Jason’s chest. Jason smiled and sleepily threw an arm over Nico’s smaller body. See, now _this_ was the lack of room he was hoping for.

A few minutes rolled by quietly as Jason drifted back to sleep. As happy as he was to be getting the chance to cuddle with Nico again, sleep was a very sexy thing that almost always got its way with him. Jason would’ve been totally lost had Nico not piped up right before he nodded off.

“What was that, Nico?” Jason asked, voice struggling.

After a moment Nico hesitantly repeated himself. “Do you think people can keep nightmares away?”

“Of course,” Jason murmured. A lazy smile spread across his face and he ran a hand over Nico’s hair. “If nothing else they can give you piece of mind.”

“You give me piece of mind,” Nico admitted, eyes closing with relief. “I think that’s enough.”

“D’you wana talk about it?” Jason asked.

Nico’s eyes opened and he shook his head. “No, not really.”

“That’s fine.”

Neither spoke for a minute, and Jason started falling asleep.

“Can I ask you one more question?”

Jason nodded, forcing himself to stay awake.

“During the movie, when I put my head on your arm and you told me it was fine? For a minute… for a minute we kind of looked at each other, and I thought you were going to—um…”

“I would have,” Jason admitted breathlessly. “If I thought you would be okay with it.”

Nico didn’t say anything. Jason waited. His body was tired, and slow, and heavy, but he didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to know what Nico thought.

“Yes,” he said finally. “I think I would have been.”

“Then can I still?” Jason asked.

If Nico weren’t right there, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hear a thing.

“I’m sorry, Jason,” he whispered. “We can’t if you’re asleep.”

 

Light slowly filled Jason’s vision as he woke. He was still on his back—staring at the ceiling—and when he turned his head he noticed that Nico hadn’t moved from where Jason had tucked him in the night before.

The morning was frigid and the sun was weak as it attempted to fill the corners of the room. The cold did its best to cover the windows in frost, further inhibiting the efforts of the great star’s warmth to permeate the stillness that was a Norwegian winter. Jason wished the sun was strong enough to melt the block of ice that had suddenly solidified in the cradle of his stomach—brought on by the relentless teasing of the electrical connections that manipulated Jason’s deepest thoughts and wants when he wasn’t conscious to control them.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome to chapter eight, the chapter from hell that actually ended up being ripped in two.
> 
> So for anyone sitting through this chapter thinking, "Who the fuck are these characters," I recommend and re-recommend La Meglio Gioventu until the day I die. The movie is a stunning piece of Italian filmography and it's subtitled on Netflix, so if you're looking for something to do this winter break that's what I suggest! Jason and Leo and Nico also totally would suggest it, too.
> 
> As for the brevity of this chapter, don't worry. The original length of "chapter eight" was twenty pages, and after consulting with a friend I decided to break the chapter in the middle and post the second half as chapter nine. Since I feel guilty posting something so short, I've decided to post chapter 9 at midnight PST, December 8th. It's already queued up and ready to go. But please, for the love of God and your health, don't stay up late waiting if you have school/finals/work tomorrow. The chapter will still be here in the morning!
> 
> Special thanks to my beta [Phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) for all of his helpful witticisms. He was a great help this chapter, and if any of you are Homestuck fans I highly recommend his new fic [The Bastard Knight](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2731088/chapters/6119141) (which I am a beta for!).
> 
> Thank you, ALL of you for your amazing comments on the last chapter! You have no idea how much I love each and every one of you. Can't wait to see what you think this time.


	9. Born With A Bang At Twilight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fuck off, Jason!” Nico growled, shoving uselessly at Jason’s chest. “And go tell Leo to stick his fucking drone right up his ass where it belongs!”
> 
> “Yes—yes I will definitely tell Leo to do that!” Jason said. “But please stop. I need to talk to you.”
> 
> “About what?” Nico spat.
> 
> “About… well, that in there. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault that Leo did that.”

“You’re avoiding Nico.”

“Leo…”

“No, Jason, this isn’t okay.”

“Leo, please, I’m trying to study.”

“Bullshit. All you’re doing is running from your problems.”

“Leo!”

Jason could kill a man. Over a week had passed since Nico’s movie night visit, and since then Jason had seen him maybe twice, and only ever in passing. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have a valid excuse. It was finals week, for God’s sake, and Jason was trying to focus. He didn’t have time to get caught up in his hopeless crush when his grades were on the line.

And that was the honest half-truth!

“What happened?” Leo demanded, a finger prodding accusingly at Jason’s forehead. “What the fuck got into your stubborn little brain that convinced you to suddenly cut off all communication with the guy that you couldn’t keep your fucking hands off just a week ago?”

“Leo, cut it out!” Jason growled. “I have shit to do! Maybe you should stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself.”

Leo slowly straightened himself until he was standing over Jason with all the authority of the morally righteous. Part of Jason was annoyed, but a deeper part of him was growing with guilt.

“Nico asked me if he pissed you off.”

“What?”

Leo took out his phone, and after a minute of scrolling he cleared his throat. “‘Hey Leo, do you know if I did anything the other day that made Jason mad? He doesn’t stop to say hi anymore and I can’t get him to reply to my texts.’” Leo glared. “Still think I’m going to believe your shitty excuses?”

Okay, growing guilt was now fully grown, harvested, and processed guilt. Jason had no idea he was being that obvious. He just thought Leo was extra perceptive of his bad moods. And it wasn’t Nico’s fault. No, God no. Nothing was Nico’s fault.

“I fucked up.”

“You shit the bed and stained the mattress,” Leo offered. “Now are you going to explain to me what the fuck you’re doing?”

Jason sighed and held his head in his hands. This was going to sound so damn stupid when he explained everything. Leo would yell at him, and then he’d tell Piper and Thalia and Reyna and they’d all yell at him, too.

“I didn’t want to make him feel bad,” Jason moaned. “I was just… angry and confused.”

Jason looked up, and Leo was staring at him with arms crossed over his chest, obviously waiting for a further explanation. Jason sighed, resigning himself to the lecture he knew was coming.

“When he came over I had a dream that I told him how I felt… kind of. And he reciprocated! Kind of.” At least, Jason thought the interaction was pretty straight forward. “When I woke up and realized I’d imagined the whole thing I got upset with myself. I still wasn’t ready to tell Nico how I feel—I’m still not!—and now that I was having  _dreams_  about him I got worried I was going to fuck up and say something or do something—”

“You mean like ignoring him?” Leo cut in.

Jason huffed. “Okay yes, I realize this now, thank you. It was never my intention to make him think I was upset with him. I just wanted to put enough distance between us to get a grip, and now that  _that’s_  completely backfired right into my face I have no idea what to do!”

Maybe he should have called Reyna.

“Well, I think the first thing you need to do is calm the fuck down.”

Jason sucked in a breath, ready to shout and scream and lose it because  ** _now was not the time_**.

But then he didn’t.

No, instead Jason deflated like an air mattress. He was emotionally spent, and pushing back against the force of Leo’s disapproval proved too difficult a task given his current lack of willpower. So, instead of bubbling over in rage, Jason listened to Leo and took a minute to turn the dial down.

“Better?” Leo asked.

Jason nodded. Leo pulled a chair up so that he and Jason were on equal grounds again. The supposed lecture hadn’t come, and Jason hoped he could avoid it in favor of advice on how to fix things.

“I think the next thing you should do is text Nico,” Leo said seriously. “He thinks you’re mad at him, and that doesn’t work in your favor.”

“What do I say?” Jason asked as he pulled out his phone. “Do I apologize?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Leo exclaimed, like he thought Jason was an idiot for thinking anything otherwise. “But at the same time don’t tell him you were actually trying to avoid him. That would just open a huge can of worms, and that’s the last thing you need right now. Just use finals as an excuse—even if it is a piss poor one—and promise to make it up to him.”

“Okay okay…” 

Jason typed out a text, fingers skipping over letters several times before it became something coherent.

 **Jason  
** _nico leo talked to me. I’m so so sorry for not texting you this week. finals have been murder and… there’s really no excuse for my behavior, but I hope you’ll let me make it up to you_

Jason stared at the message for a full minute before he hit send. When he was done he showed Leo, and Leo nodded his approval. About five minutes later Nico replied 

 **Nico**  
 _Oh, no don’t bother yourself. Really, I’m just relieved I didn’t do anything to offend you._  
 _I thought it might be something like finals.  
_ _I’m sorry if my probing distracted you from your studies._

Jason smiled wistfully. God, Nico was too great. Of course, Jason still felt incredibly guilty for basically goading Nico into an apology when this was all his fault, but at least he could rest easy knowing Nico wasn’t upset.

“What’d he say?” Leo asked.

Jason showed him the text, and Leo let out a sigh of relief. Now Jason was that much closer to repairing the damage he’d done.

“You should invite him to the Christmas party,” Leo suggested. “As a date, preferably, but if you still have cold feet just invite him as a friend.”

“There’s going to be a Christmas party?” Jason asked.

Leo gave Jason a look dripping in disbelief and pulled a flyer out of his jacket. “It’s the only event the school has thrown for us since that initial mixer. It’ll be like a going-away party for people like myself, and then for everyone else it’s a nice way to wind down after finals.”

Jason perked up. “Oh! You think he’d go with me?”

“Gee, I duno Jason, why don’t you ask him?”

So Jason did just that. He didn’t specify whether they were going as friends or as a date, but he hoped that by Nico’s reaction he could gauge what kind of label to put on their… mutual attendance. Jason was hoping it could be a date.

This text was left responseless for much longer than the last. Jason got anxious waiting, and he pestered Leo several times with ‘What if I said the wrong thing?’ or ‘What if he gets creeped out?’ before Leo threatened to pull out the duct tape.

“It’s fine!” Leo insisted. “He’s probably right in the middle of a final, anyway! Why don’t you make yourself some cocoa, and when you’re done and the cup is empty then we can talk about your love troubles.”

Jason grumbled, but he agreed to leave his phone on the table before getting up to do as he was told. Two cups of cocoa later Jason was still waiting. The lecture he’d been anticipating was delivered, and with all of his attention centered on Nico’s possible reply Leo claimed there was nothing more to talk about. All Jason could do was hope that Nico was just busy, and that he would be able to make up for his behavior without ruining their friendship.

An hour later the phone rang.

“Hello?” Jason asked, trying hard not to sound too eager.

“Hey Jason!” It was Nico, who sounded very tired. “Sorry about such a late response. Before I had texted you right before going into an exam, so I turned my phone off before I got your reply.”

“No, that’s fine! Don’t even worry about it!” And then, after a pause. “So, how was the exam?”

Nico made a noncommittal grunt. “It was what it was. Not my branch of psychology, but hopefully I did well enough to pass.”

“Don’t even kid yourself,” Jason insisted. “I’m sure you aced it.”

“Ace might be a strong word,” Nico laughed. “But thank you for the vote of confidence. Now, in regards to your text.”

“Oh! Yeah, um…” Suddenly Jason forgot how to say words. “Christmas party?”

“To be honest, I wasn’t planning on going,” Nico said. The sounds of a crowd and the loud squeal of the bus letting out air could be heard in the background. “My family rented a cabin in Hemsedal for the holiday, and I’m set to head out the morning after the party.”

Jason felt his entire body sag at the news. “Oh?”

“Yeah, but… well, if you’re going, and this’ll be my last time to annoy Leo as much as he annoys me, then I could reconsider.”

Jason immediately bounced back. “So can I count that as a yes?”

“Only if you help me pack.”

For the first time in over a week Jason laughed. It was a desperate, relieved, happy laugh that probably sounded way too excited for the context of their conversation, but he couldn’t help it. Things were okay. Nico was going to go to a party  _with_  him, and all Jason had to do was spend even more time with the guy he was crazy about.

Could the universe be any kinder?

 

Finals were over, it was the afternoon of the Christmas party, and Jason was currently folding Nico’s sweaters while seated on his bedroom floor. Ever since his slip-up a couple days back he’d been overtly thankful for the second chance that had fallen right into his lap. Jason had gotten away relatively Scott-free from the incident (besides the disapproving group text from Leo and the girls that had blown up his phone for two straight days), and now that he was back in Comfortable Companionship Land he had no plans to leave.

Unless that meant transitioning to Awesome Boyfriend Land.

“How many sweaters do you think I need, Jason?” Nico asked as he walked back into the small alcove that was his room. “Break is only a month long, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have access to a washing machine.”

“Yeah, but they’d all look so good on you!” Jason chirped. “How come you’ve literally  _never_  worn these before?”

“I’m not an ugly sweater champion,” Nico said, picking up an entire stack to deposit back into his dresser. “I prefer plain shirts and jackets.”

“And thermal underwear, apparently,” Jason drawled as he pointed to the six pairs Nico had in his suitcase.

Nico nudged at Jason’s head with his foot. “You wana be a eunuch, friend? Be my guest.”

Jason laughed and threw a pair of socks at Nico. Nico responded by tossing them right into the suitcase.

“We’re not starting a clothes war now!” Nico warned. “Come on, we only have two hours left before the party. Get it together!”

“Fine! Pass me your shoes.”

A couple minutes passed filled only with talk about organizing clothing and toiletries and electronics in the most convenient way possible. Neither young man, despite their relative neatness with their home environments, was much of a tidy packer. Even still, they managed to fit everything inside both sets of luggage, and they were even able to create an archaic, highly ineffective organization system for it all.

“So you’re just going to leave your apartment like this while you’re gone?”

Nico shrugged. “That’s more or less the plan. Though I will be back earlier than expected.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, my lease ends right before the term starts.” Nico sighed. “Dad and I are going to have to come back and get that settled, which kind of cuts our vacation short.”

“Wait…” Gears were turning slowly in the inner depths of his cerebral hemispheres. “You didn’t take out a full year lease?”

Nico shook his head and sat on his suitcase in an attempt to zip it up. “Owner wouldn’t let us. Says she’s had too many exchange students break their leases because they get homesick.”

“Nico.”

Nico looked over at Jason, eyebrow quirked. “What?”

“Nico,” Jason repeated, “I don’t have a roommate for next semester.”

Nico’s mouth fell open just a tiny bit. Jason felt the urge to crawl over and claim that beautiful little space with his tongue, but he refrained. That might really turn Nico off to the idea of living with him.

“Yes,” Jason said after Nico still had not replied, “I’m offering.”

The slightest smirk found its way to Nico’s face. “Then yes,” he said, “I could use a roommate.”

Jason grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. “Does this mean we can hug?”

Nico laughed. “Don’t push it. I still have to ask my Dad.”

“Just tell him I’m a devastatingly handsome, talented, smart young man who would be a fantastic influence on his son,” Jason suggested. “That’ll get him to agree in no time.”

“Now if only that were true.”

“Oh, you little—” 

It took a while for Jason to wrestle an apology out of Nico, but he wasn’t complaining. Oh no, on the contrary. Jason thought he was probably the luckiest guy in Oslo right now. He could thank the stars and comets, because come next quarter he would be living with Nico and nothing could ruin this moment.

 

A couple hours later Nico and Jason—who was still high on the thought of sharing an apartment with his increasingly-not-so-secret crush—arrived at the University of Oslo student center where the Christmas party was being held. Things had just gotten started, but from the looks of it almost everyone was there. It was kind of nice, especially considering how close everyone had grown in the last five months, to be able to celebrate the end of the term with a party that was intended to be less alcohol-fueled and more festive.

“I’m going to go say hi to Calypso,” Nico told Jason after hanging his coat.

Jason nodded. “I’ll go find Leo, then. We’ll meet up after that.”

The two parted ways, Nico heading straight for the group of girls situated by the perfectly decorated tree and Jason shuffling through the crowd until he spotted a messy tuft of brown hair. As Jason approached he noticed that Leo was bending over something resting on the table—almost like he was tinkering—and the closer he got the more confused he grew.

“What the hell is that?”

“Mistletoe drone,” Leo supplied. “Going to use this to set people up.”

“Uh huh…” Jason eyed the candy-cane painted drone with skepticism. “And would any of those people happen to be Nico or I?”

“Not unless you made a move,” Leo retorted. He then looked up, eyebrows to his hairline. “Did you?”

“No,” Jason said with a shake of his head. “But… I did invite him to be my roommate next semester. And he did say yes.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Leo laughed. He stepped back and picked up the drone’s controller before making the machine hover in the air. Leo then hooked a sprig of mistletoe onto the bottom of it and made it fly around. “You finally did something, Mr. Cold Feet.”

“Yeah yeah, make fun all you want. At least _I_  get to see my crush every day for the next five months.”

Leo hissed. “Harsh, bro. But don’t think this mistletoe drone is just for you.” He then winked and walked into the crowd, the drone hovering every couple minutes before a flash went off and it flew away.

Jason chuckled and shook his head before moving back toward where Calypso and Nico had been sitting earlier. They were still there, Calypso, Katie, and Nico all talking excitedly, when Jason approached them with arms wide open.

“Happy end of finals, ladies!” he cheered.

“Aw, thanks Jason!” Calypso laughed. He got up to give him a hug, and then Katie did the same. Nico just swatted him on the arm.

“The girls and I were just talking about the coming semester.”

“We can’t stay,” Calypso said sadly. “My Dad said I’ve gone enough gallivanting around for his taste.”

“And I’ve got to get back in time for spring planting,” Katie added. “Though, Calypso, I thought you’d convinced him that staying in Norway was good for your cultural diversification or something.”

“Yeah, no, that didn’t work so well,” Calypso sighed. “My Dad’s a prick.”

“Amen to that,” Jason said. “But I’m sad to see you girls go. Norway is a darker place without you.”

“Norway is always a dark place in winter,” Nico deadpanned. “Though nice attempt at flirting, Jason.”

Jason chuckled and turned to Nico with a smile, but apparently the amusement wasn’t mutual. In fact, Nico wasn’t even looking at him. Jason wondered if he’d said anything wrong, but before he could ask Travis Stoll’s voice broke out over the crowd and everyone turned to listen.

“Hey everybody! Congratulations on finishing finals!”

Everyone cheered, some raising their cups to Travis as he downed whatever he was drinking.

“Let me take this opportunity to thank our wonderful exchange advisor for making this experience so great. Erle, please step forward!”

A more subdued applause was made for Erle, and after a polite bow the woman took her place back at the welcome table. Travis continued with his speech, announcing a gift giveaway that would happen later in the night before descending into a heartfelt thank you to everyone that was there. It was sweet, especially coming from Travis, but the entire time Jason found himself concerned with the frosty look that had come over Nico’s face.

Jason was ready to ask Nico if he wanted to step into the hallway to talk when suddenly a wolf whistle was heard over the loud speaker. Jason looked around to find that all eyes were on him—or more specifically, he and Nico. When he looked up he saw Leo’s mistletoe drone hovering above them, and Jason cursed his friend’s horrible timing.

“Looks like the drone caught another one!” Travis shouted. “Well then you two? Kiss!”

Before he knew it everyone in the room had begun a chant of ‘kiss kiss kiss’ while he stared at Nico in horror. Nico, too, looked stunned. Jason didn’t blame him. He hadn’t known about the mistletoe drone before, and to suddenly be put on the spot like that was probably not the best introduction to the whole thing. Jason was going to wave it off, hopefully in order to calm Nico down and get a chance to talk to him, but for the second time that night Jason’s plans were aborted—this time by Nico practically bolting out of the room.

A collective ‘aw’ sounded through the crowd, and Jason flipped them all off before running out the door. Instead of going out the front Nico had taken the closest possible exit, which happened to be the fire door leading outside. It didn’t take long for Jason to spot him storming down the sidewalk with footfalls so heavy it was like his boots were made of lead.

“Nico wait up!” Jason called, jogging carefully in order to avoid a possible slip on a patch of ice.

Nico wasn’t listening. If anything, he moved faster. This forced Jason to pick his jog up to a run, and before Nico could make a break for it Jason slipped in front of him, forcing Nico to stop.

“Please, just hold on!”

“Fuck off, Jason!” Nico growled, shoving uselessly at Jason’s chest. “And go tell Leo to stick his fucking drone right up his ass where it belongs!”

“Yes—yes I will  _definitely_  tell Leo to do that!” Jason said. “But please stop. I need to talk to you.”

“About  _what_?” Nico spat.

“About… well, that in there. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault that Leo did that.”

“Excuse me?” Nico asked, eyes narrowing. “Are you telling me you told Leo to humiliate me in front of everyone in the entire exchange group?”

Jason cursed. This was not going as well as he planned.

“No, and I’m so sorry he decided to do that,” Jason insisted. “But it is my fault he got the idea. I mean, not for the drone—because that was all him—but I’m the reason… oh boy.” Jason thought he was going to throw up. “[I’m the reason Leo targeted us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnjBXFVd0Uo).”

Nico crossed his arms over his chest, cheeks bright red with anger or cold. Jason couldn’t tell. All he knew was that Nico was listening, and this was probably his last chance to say something before Nico left for break. Jason would be damned if this horrible fucking situation was the last thing that happened between them.

“Why would Leo target us?” Nico asked with steely calm. “Are you trying to play a joke on me?”

“Absolutely not,” Jason said immediately. “Leo targeted us because… holy shit.” Jason took a deep breath, but his entire body was shaking with adrenaline. “Leo targeted us because… I maybe, actually,  ** _really_**  want to kiss you.”

Never in his life had Jason seen someone’s face drain completely of color so fast before immediately turning scarlet. Nico wasn’t talking. Jason wondered for a moment if he’d finally just fucked his whole life over, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He kept talking.

“I don’t know when I started liking you for sure, but I know it was as early as October, and I know that it’s gotten  _increasingly_  harder for me to pretend like nothing is going on when my heart feels like it’s going to tear out of my chest Alien-style every time we talk. I’ve spoken to everyone I know about this—Leo, my ex, my sister, my best friend from high school—and they kept telling me to tell you, because I would definitely regret it if I didn’t, but I was scared shitless because I didn’t want you to think I was creepy or weird, so I guess Leo got fed up and he wanted to push me into making a declaration, which, good fucking job, buddy, you did! But I’m also really sorry, because I never wanted him to put you on the spot like that, because I really respect you and I don’t want to coerce you into saying anything, but you’ve been quiet for a long time so please, Nico, say  _something_.”

Nico jumped, apparently shocked at the sudden command, and immediately his gaze dropped to the ground. Jason whined high in his throat, already nervous enough to puke and also really fucking cold, but he waited like a good boy until Nico finally looked at him again.

“So, you like me?” he asked.

Jason nodded so fast his head might snap off. “I do. I like you a whole fucking lot.”

“You like me,” Nico said again, “like… like I like you?”

“Yes, I really—wait.” Jason’s eyes opened so wide they started to sting. “What?”

Nico’s face was still the color of pomegranate jam as he brought his arms up to hug himself. “I’ve kind of had a thing for you now for the past month or so. Um… ever since we started hanging out more. I didn’t think much of it until that night you stayed over during the blizzard, but I thought you were just an affectionate person, so I never really considered doing anything about… about, um, us?”

“So…” Jason couldn’t wrap his head around the moment. “So back there, at the party, you left because—?”

“Because I was embarrassed and thought everyone was going to make fun of me,” Nico sighed, cheeks still bright red. “Yeah.”

“But, if that hadn’t been the case, you would have totally kissed me?”

“Well,” Nico stuttered. He shrugged. “Yes?”

“So then,” Jason continued, and he took a step forward so that he was right in front of Nico, face-to-face, “can I kiss you now?”

Nico stared up at Jason with pupils so dilated they might be quarters. He nodded, mute of any words that might spoil the moment, and Jason leaned down with the full intent to make good on his request.

Their first kiss was the gentle pressure of two pairs of chapped lips being the only thing connecting Nico and Jason together. Nico was a bit too tense, and Jason was at an awkward angle, but as the cold wind swept through them neither considered it anything other than magnificent. When they pulled away awe was evident on both their faces, and giddiness lay just beneath the surface.

“Can I kiss you again?” Jason asked.

“Any time you want,” Nico replied.

The universe is a beautiful expanse of radiant stars and newly birthed planets. Within the endless void unbelievable things continue to happen, and as human beings we are oblivious to it all. As the stars shone bright in the ceiling of black velvet above the new pair of lovers, Jason and Nico were even more unaware than their nine billion counterparts around the globe. Together they were forming a new galaxy, and it shined with the brilliance that even the brightness of the stars above could not outdo.

 

**End of Act I**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the conclusion of Act 1 of our harrowing tale! Man, I can't wait to see the mania that will ensue once you guys read this. How long have ya'll be waiting? Yeah, I thought so.
> 
> So with the end of Act 1 I also bring you the end of every-other-week updates. Finals for me are the week of the 15th, and then there's Christmas, and then there's my brother's birthday the week after that, so I'm a very busy bee! But please rest assured that I'm going to take the time and productively write ahead in the story, hopefully allowing me some room to give you guys consistent bi-weekly updates when I start again. Mark you calendars, because you can expect another update by the weekend of January 10th.
> 
> In addition, to hold you guys over on the holidays I'm going to be posting a one-shot from the same universe. It's actually just going to be Nico and his holiday with his family, but it'll be the first time we get Nico POV for the Stars series so look forward to it! Expect it around Christmas week.
> 
> Anyways, again special thanks to my beta [Phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn)! He's great, guys. Please show him some love and check out his fics. And, for course, thank you all SO MUCH for your support throughout the series. You guys show me so much love and I appreciate every one of you. Stay safe this winter (or summer, depending on where you live) season, and don't forget to spread the love!


	10. Bumps Along the Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason chuckled as he noticed how red Nico’s face was. He leaned over the table and pressed a kiss to each of Nico’s cheeks, making sure to watch for any signs of discomfort. All he saw were two blown out pupils and the gap between Nico’s lips where little puffs of breath could escape.
> 
> “I should sit down,” Jason said.
> 
> “Why?”
> 
> Jason smiled. “That’s not polite dinner table conversation.”

A loud bang rattled the thin walls of Jason’s apartment.

“Are you okay?” Jason shouted.

“Shit!”

Jason stood up so fast his chair toppled over. He ran to the pass-through and failed to stop in time to prevent his hip from slamming into the countertop. It didn’t matter. Jason couldn’t feel it. His heart was running too fast. All he could think about was Nico being hurt; Nico needing help; Nico needing _him_.

When he looked through the window he saw Nico on the floor huddled over one of their moving boxes. Nico looked up—top lip curved in a pouty snarl and nose scrunched—and Jason’s shoulders deflated with relief.

“We need a new coffee maker,” Nico grumbled.

“That’s better than a new Nico,” Jason sighed. His ears were still ringing with adrenaline, but that didn’t stop the pain of his earlier collision with the counter from surfacing. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Nico rolled his eyes and picked up the box containing the now broken coffee maker. “I’m fine. Contrary to popular belief, these skinny arms are useful for _something_.”

Jason chuckled and leaned against the countertop. “Are you really, _really_ sure you couldn’t use me?” he asked. Oh-so-subtly he flexed under his t-shirt. “My arms are very sturdy.”

“Oh my God,” Nico groaned. “Did you just flex at me?”

“Nonsense, this is how I always look,” Jason insisted. “But if you really want me to flex a muscle, I could go over there and—”

“Enough!” Nico laughed and threw a dishrag at Jason’s face.  “If you try to help me again we’ll never finish unpacking. Besides, weren’t you going to Skype with your friends?”

Jason glanced down at his watch and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. They should be back from classes.”

“Good. Now shoo!” Nico said. “I’ll come get you when I’m done with dinner.”

The tips of Jason’s ears prickled with heat. “Okay,” he said. “Can’t wait.”

 

“Hey, it’s about time you showed up! Busy making out with short, glum, and pasty?”

Jason shook his head. “It’s nice to see you too, Leo. Hi Piper.”

“Hello Jason,” Piper chuckled. “How you feeling? Still jet-lagged?”

“A little,” Jason admitted. “But Nico hasn’t been letting me cheat during the day, so that helps.”

“Uh huh,” Piper said. “And how is Nico?”

Heat flushed Jason’s face and he smiled. “He’s doing well. You know, just about the same as when I told you about him over break.”

“You weren’t living with him then,” Leo said. “Give us some good details. Does he clip his toenails in the kitchen? Wear a sleep mask? Curl his hair?”

Piper turned to Leo. “Hey, I wear a sleep mask.”

“Yeah,” Leo said, “but you’re a girl.”

Jason sighed and rubbed at his face.

“I resent that sort of thinking, you know!” Piper snapped. “The idea that something like a sleep mask is tied in any way to gender—especially binary gender—is not just wrong, but frankly sort of appalling.”

“Piper!” Leo whined. “It was a joke! Please don’t give me another lecture on feminist theory!”

 “You are definitely getting another lecture,” Piper said, pinching at Leo’s cheek. “But after we hang up with Jason.”

Piper turned her attention back to the monitor and folded her hands on the desk in front of her. “Now then. Jason. How is married life?”

“Wow, you too?” Jason shook his head as his friends snickered. “We’ve been living in the same apartment for like… three days. I can promise you nothing much has changed since the last time we talked.”

“Okay, but you didn’t really get the chance to talk to us while you were home,” Piper said. “I mean yes I got the whole story, but I want to know how you feel about this whole thing. Doesn’t it make you nervous that you two have barely become boyfriends and now you have to live together?”

“Well, first of all he’s not my boyfriend yet,” Jason clarified. “We’re just dating. You know, taking things slow.”

“Yeah sure,” Leo drawled. “If running off to his place to make out as soon as you guys realized you were mutually hard for one another means slow, then you two are totally going slow.”

Jason’s stomach flipped at the memory of that night. “Okay, that was really a heat of the moment thing. When I got back things were… I dunno, a little awkward?”

“In a bad way?” Piper asked.

Jason shrugged. “In a normal way, I think. Neither of us really knew how far we were allowed to go. We agreed during break that we would start out as just… dating, but the problem is I have no idea what ‘just dating’ includes.”

Leo snorted. “You totally want to stick your tongue down his throat.”

Jason groaned. “I do! Really, really bad!”

“Wow. Seriously, guys?”

“Piper, have some sympathy here,” Leo chided. “Jason is in a very difficult position. You see, our good friend Nico is demonsexual.”

“Demisexual,” Jason corrected.

Leo waved a hand. “Right whatever.”

At that Piper winced. “Oh. Sorry Jason. I mean, that’s great that you’re willing to hold off for Nico, but I know how you enjoy the uh… more physical aspects of a relationship.”

“Ew. Both of you shut up before we get into a discussion about your former sex life,” Leo said.

“Okay fine,” Piper said. “But Jason you should just talk to him about it. It might seem like an awkward thing to bring up, but it’s better than shuffling around the issue.”

“Right, because those two are great at confronting their feelings,” Leo scoffed. “Absolutely no shuffling around issues in that relationship!”

“Wow, thanks Leo. You’re a great friend.”

Leo held his hands up in surrender. “It’s not like I’m wrong. You two spent an entire semester eye-fucking each other. Or well… I guess in this case it’s probably eye-cuddling? Post-coital-emotionally-snuggling one another from across the room?”

“You’re going to get your talking privileges redacted,” Piper warned.

“You’ll never silence me, McLean.”

Jason rolled his eyes. Honestly, he needed to start getting relationship advice from people who could hold a conversation for longer than five minutes before descending into petty bickering.

“Let’s get back on track,” Jason said. “What should I do?”

“Oh Jesus, Jason. Just fucking ask him if he wants to make out,” Leo said.

Piper nodded. “Leo’s right. Just ask and stop being a teenager about it.”

“Okay wow, I resent that.”

“I resent how you won’t stop asking the same damn question over and over again,” Piper shot back.

Leo chuckled. “Good one, Piper.”

Jason threw up his hands. “Okay fine, I’ll talk to him about it. Are you two happy?”

“Frankly yes.” Leo smirked. “Now we can talk about my sex life.”

“There is no sex life,” Piper said quickly. “He’s lying.”

“Thanks Piper. I totally asked for your help there.”

“Okay hold on, what happened? I’ve literally been gone for a week.” Granted, a lot could happen in a week, but this was Leo.

“I’ve got a date with Calypso!” Leo boasted. “She’s visiting New York and I’m gona take her out for a day.”

“And I’m coming too,” Piper added with a triumphant smirk.

Jason snorted at the look Leo threw at Piper. “Well, I’m glad you three are going to try and work things out.”

“Don’t humor her,” Leo said. “But all kidding aside, I’m actually pretty excited. Calypso said she was couldn’t wait to catch up.”

“And why is Piper going?” Jason asked.

“Chaperone,” Piper said. “I’m going to make sure things don’t get too awkward between them, and if everything goes well I just make up some lame excuse and leave.”

“Sounds like a Leo plan.”

“Totally a Leo plan.”

“I should get a copyright.”

For a minute it was like freshman year all over again as the terrible trio sat there and laughed at their own jokes. As good as things had been for Jason in high school he truly believed that he only started enjoying his life when he met Leo and Piper. They were the perfect friends—flaws and all—and he was lucky to have them.

There was a knock at the door and Jason turned in his chair. “Come in!”

Nico poked his head into the room and smiled. “Dinner’s ready. Need me to keep it warm?”

“Uh…” Jason turned back to his computed. Both Piper and Leo were motioning for him to leave. “No, I’ll be there in a sec!”

“Okay, sounds good.”

When Nico shut the door Jason put his earphones back in and cleared his throat. “Okay, so I’m being summoned to dinner.”

“Try to eat the food on your plate,” Leo said with a wink. “Keep your man respectable.”

“Love you too, Leo. This time try not to get anything on Calypso’s clothes.”

“Okay, keep it civil, boys.” Piper smiled. “Call us soon Jason.”

Jason nodded. “Promise. Talk to you guys later!”

They said their goodbyes and Jason allowed himself a moment to sit in quiet reflection. Piper and Leo were right. He needed to be honest with Nico and just ask him what his physical boundaries were. Jason would hate to push Nico’s comfort levels, but at the same time he wasn’t going to restrict himself out of an unnecessary sheepishness surrounding the issue of their physical intimacy.

When Jason finally made it into the living room he greeted Nico with a hug. At first Nico seemed surprise by the forwardness of the gesture, but he relaxed almost immediately and hugged him back. Jason considered that a good sign.

“What’d you make, handsome?” he asked.

Nico pulled away and Jason caught a glimpse of an eye-roll. “Cavatelli and broccoli. Parmigiano is here if you want it.”

Jason smirked as sat down. “Parmigiano?”

“Solo perché sei un americano sporco non significa che devo insultare la mia lingua.”

Nico looked incredibly smug, probably because he knew Jason had no idea what he’d just said, but his attempts at teasing had gone awry.

“You know it’s unbelievably hot when you do that, right?” Jason asked. “I’m having trouble resisting the urge to kiss you right now.”

Nico faltered. “W-what?”

“Your accent when you’re speaking Italian? I would bathe in it if possible.”

“Jason!”

Jason chuckled as he noticed how red Nico’s face was. He leaned over the table and pressed a kiss to each of Nico’s cheeks, making sure to watch for any signs of discomfort. All he saw were two blown out pupils and the gap between Nico’s lips where little puffs of breath could escape.

“I should sit down,” Jason said.

“Why?”

Jason smiled. “That’s not polite dinner table conversation.”

The tension between them had grown thick and heavy. Jason had to move his legs in several different positions before he could sit comfortably, and by the way Nico’s eyes were trained on his plate Jason figure he was in an equivalent state. If there was ever a time to talk about boundaries it was now.

“Nico, can I ask you a question?”

Nico looked over at him and nodded. Jason took a deep breath and tried to sort out his thoughts. He didn’t want to come off needy. No, Jason had the upmost respect for Nico and his main worry was Nico’s comfort.

“Would you mind telling me what your physical limits are? I know they might change, but just so I know for now…”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Nico said. “I uh… I’m actually surprised you didn’t ask sooner. You know you can kiss me, right?”

Jason slumped in relief. “Well, I know now.”

“Yeah, I was wondering why you kept avoiding my mouth,” Nico chuckled.

Before Nico could continue Jason darted forward and stole a kiss. He smirked as he sat back down, much to the apparent flustered frustration of Nico. The poor man looked like he wanted to shout something but he was far too happy to come out with it.

“So besides kisses what’s kosher?” Jason asked.

Nico cleared his throat. “Right. So, kisses are okay. So are sex jokes and just general teasing of an uh… amorous nature.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’m okay with making out,” he continued, “but at this point I’d probably be more comfortable with just cuddling on the couch or something.”

“I can do that,” Jason said. “And obviously hands above the waist?”

“For the time being,” Nico said. “When I start to feel it I’ll let you know.”

“That seems like a good arrangement.”

Nico nodded. “I’m glad. It’s um... it’s nice to date someone who cares so much about my comfort level.”

“You mean your ex didn’t respect your boundaries?” Jason asked. It was like someone flipped a switch in his brain. “What was his name again?”

“Calm down,” Nico urged. “And it’s not like he disrespected my boundaries. He just… never bothered to ask what they were.”

Jason crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t see much of a difference between those two things.”

The slightest smile crept into the creases of Nico’s eyes. How many times was he going to make Jason’s breath catch tonight? This type of infatuation so soon was probably not a healthy thing, but if Jason admitted that it wasn’t good for him then maybe that counteracted all the bad it could do? Either way, Jason was glad he had talked so openly with Nico. Why had he been so worried about honesty?

“Enough about me,” Nico said. “I haven’t gotten to ask you about break yet. How did your Dad take the news?”

“The news?” Jason asked. “Which news?”

“About your major,” Nico clarified. “How’d he react?”

Just like that the cold weight of reality sank in. Jason fiddled with his food for a moment before taking a series of nervous bites.

“It went about as well as you think,” Jason said. “Dad is Dad.”

Nico’s raised a brow. “Okay? What does that mean?”

Jason shrugged and started turning his fork over between his fingers. There was a broccoli floret stuck between the teeth. He momentarily wondered whether or not he had anything stuck in _his_ teeth, and then he was back in the present moment face-to-face with his situation.

“It wasn’t easy,” Jason said.

He sighed. He was going to panic if he wasn’t careful. He didn’t want to talk about his Dad. He didn’t want to talk about vacation. All he wanted was to enjoy the time he had with Nico while he still had it.

It was getting harder to breathe, so Jason reached out for the one anchor he could think of. He took Nico’s hand in his own and dragged it forward until he could press his lips against the knuckles and find the center of the universe again. Jason took a moment to close his eyes and settle his stomach—skin to skin—before turning Nico’s hand over to bury his cheek in the waiting palm.

“Please,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Okay,” Nico whispered. “We don’t have to talk about it right now.”

“Thank you.”

For the next few seconds nothing happened. Jason indulged in touch therapy—something he’d been deprived of for a long time when he was younger—and Nico let him. They didn’t want or need to clarify anything. All they needed was a moment, and then they finished dinner like nothing had ever happened.

 

“Now remember, while Sociology is inherently political the first half of this class will be strictly focused on the numbers. We’ll look at GDP, natural resource trading, tariffs, domestic business law versus international business law, military history, etcetera and etcetera. Once you have a good handle of the _what_ we will start to look at the _why_ and the _how_. It’ll amaze you how one treaty can change the entire structure of a foreign government. Read chapters one through five of your textbook, and I’ll see you next week. Class dismissed.”

As the lecture hall filled with the sound of zipping backpacks and shuffling feet Jason stayed bent over his notebook vigorously copying every legible word on the blackboard. He’d forgotten to take notes while caught up in Professor Smith’s discussion of the upcoming semester, and he had no idea if any of it would be important later, so he decided he’d take it all.

“Now now, Mr. Grace. It’s only the first day. Do you think I’d be so cruel as to test you based on material we learned this early in the semester?”

Jason smiled and set his pen down. “Well, you never know what might help. Besides, it’s nice to have notes to reference while doing the readings.”

One of Professor Smith’s rocking body laughs filled the room. “I can already tell you’re going to be a handful for me, aren’t you?”

Jason chuckled. “If by a handful you mean overly enthusiastic then you’re probably correct!”

Professor Smith laughed again. “I’m assuming you read Mills’ book, then? Did you enjoy it?”

“Oh! Yes. Definitely.” Jason quickly dug through his backpack and pulled the book out. He’d tried to take good care of it, but it was obviously from the creasing on the spine that Jason had been more focused on reading than he had on preservation. “It was excellent, Professor. Thank you so much for letting me borrow it.”

“It’s no trouble at all! I’m always happy to see a Sociology student who is excited about their field,” Smith said. He then peered over the tops of his glasses and smirked. “That is, if your application went through?”

Jason’s head bobbed like a cheap souvenir. “It was a very quick process and I had no trouble at all, though I appreciate the help you offered.”

 “That’s good, Mr. Grace,” Professor Smith said with a wide smile. “Welcome to club! We may not always make the most money, but we do a good service, and from what I know about you I’m confident that you’ll make an excellent addition to the field.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Jason flushed proudly and finally stood to follow Professor Smith out of the room. “I think I really made the right choice.”

“That’s all we can ask for in life,” Professor Smith said. When they stood outside the lecture hall he offered Jason his hand. “If you need my help with anything else don’t feel afraid to visit my office or send me an email. I’m always available for my students.”

“Thank you, Professor. I’ll see you next week.”

“I’m counting on it, Mr. Grace! Until then enjoy yourself. I find the most enthusiastic young people often forget to give themselves time to find peace of mind.”

As Professor Smith waved goodbye Jason felt his stomach churn. Peace of mind would be nice. Really nice. Unfortunately, Jason was afraid that wasn’t going to be an option anytime soon.

“No. Stop it, Jason,” Jason muttered to himself.

He started walking back to the apartment with his hands jammed in his pockets and his jaw clenched like a bear trap. It was cold. That was why he was in such a foul mood. Three feet of snow had fallen over the weekend and the wind chill was below freezing. All Jason wanted was to get home and maybe crawl under the covers and stay there. Nico could join him. They could lay there all night and ignore how cold it was outside the window. They could lay there all night and ignore everything.

When Jason got home his mood went from bad to worse. He’d forgotten to wipe his boots in the lobby, and as a result he’d tracked mud into the apartment. Jason quickly tried to pull the boots off, but his fingers were still stiff and now that they’d been exposed to the heat they were uncomfortably sore. All he ended up accomplishing was getting his hands messy and wet. It was like one shit storm after the other, and Jason was nearing his breaking point.

“Hey, you’re home.”

Jason’s head snapped up and he cursed at the way his neck cracked. Nico was standing by the kitchen door looking incredibly bewildered. Immediately Jason’s gaze turned down to his muddy boots. He felt a little nauseous. His face was too hot. Why was he this embarrassed over a pair of dirty shoes?

“Hey,” Jason muttered. He kneeled down and started to working at his shoelaces. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.”

From his peripheral vision Jason could see Nico move into the kitchen and come back out a moment later. Slippered feet started walking his way, and for some reason that only made Jason’s fingers even clumsier. When Nico finally stopped in front of him Jason sighed and dropped his laces.

“Are _you_ okay?”

“I’m okay,” Jason said. He was focusing on a large smear of mud on the toe of his boot. “How was your day?”

Nico squatted down in front of him. Jason turned his head away, but Nico didn’t say anything. Instead, he grabbed one of Jason’s hands and pulled him up. Jason followed without protest. Once they were standing Nico put a hot mug into his hand, and after taking a curious peek Jason saw it was cocoa.

“My day was good,” Nico said as he grabbed Jason’s other hand. He started moving toward the living room, and Jason tried to protest, but Nico waved him off. They made their way to the couch and Nico sat Jason down.

“My first class wasn’t bad. Three hours of upper level psychology sounds intimidating, but I think it’ll go well,” Nico said. He’d taken one of Jason’s dirty, disgusting boots and propped it on his knee. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to be in such a small class.”

As Nico went on about his day he helped Jason out of his boots and Jason sat there watching him. He felt like he should be doing something—helping, explaining, apologizing—but Nico’s efforts were actually helping to take the edge off. Jason was afraid if he moved and broke this beautiful bubble of understanding Nico had formed for him, then he might just break down crying.

“So that was my day,” Nico sighed. He set Jason’s boots on the floor and offered a smile. “Dinner is ready. Are you hungry?”

Jason swallowed. “Nico…”

Nico leaned forward and gave Jason a careful, tender kiss. “Come eat dinner with me.”

“Okay.”

 

After dinner Jason felt warm. A rich beef stew had left his stomach heavy with satisfaction, and the glass of cabernet he’d had had done a good job of sanding the edge off his nerves. Now Nico had his back nestled against Jason’s chest as they laid on the couch and watched _Hercules_. Jason knew for a fact that Nico disliked _Hercules_ with a nerdy passion, but it was Jason’s favorite movie and when they’d finished cleaning it was the first thing Nico had suggested.

“Meg kind of reminds me of you,” Jason whispered into Nico’s ear. “She’s got a mouth on her.”

Nico snorted and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, and Hercules reminds me of you: Strong and simple.”

“If you were trying to disprove my point you failed,” Jason teased.

Nico tried to stick his tongue out at Jason, but Jason fought back by stealing a kiss before Nico could turn away. They fought like that for a few minutes—with Nico’s neck craning back and their lips never touching enough to be satisfying—before Nico finally turned around and pressed himself against Jason properly.

Jason had never made-out with someone on a couch before. There was something very exciting about having your lover press you against the cushions with the weight of their body. To make things even better Nico was just as touch-happy as Jason remembered. Hands kept pushing back his hair and stroking his face and rubbing his chest. Jason wanted nothing more than to touch back—to make Nico stutter in his movements with a few well-placed touches.

“May I?” Jason asked as his hands hovered above Nico’s hips.

Nico nodded, his breath hot and humid against Jason’s lips. “Just don’t start grinding your dick against me and we’ll be peachy.”

“Fucking sass-master,” Jason muttered.

His palms were now glued to Nico’s hips. His thumbs rubbed circles into the barely-exposed skin right below Nico’s shirt like he was trying to leave a mark. Really, he wanted to incite a reaction. Anything would do. A gasp, a moan, a—

“Ouch!”

Jason licked his bottom lip where Nico had bitten him.

“Knock that shit off,” Nico husked. “Privileges will be taken away.”

Jason groaned, but he moved his hands back up to Nico’s waist and continued to work his lips to swollen glory with Nico’s help. He was eager to gain more leverage, so when Nico’s arms wrapped around his neck Jason shifted their weight and flipped Nico over.

“What are you—?”

“I want to kiss you better,” Jason said.

Nico stared at him with that same wide-eyed expression he’d had a couple days ago while they were eating dinner. They both leaned forward at the same time and met in a kiss that was worlds more passionate than the twenty plus minutes of making-out they’d been doing just seconds earlier. Nico was tugging Jason down, and Jason took a second to adjust his erection before allowing himself to lay flush on top of him. Just as they were starting to set a rhythm the tune of _Tales of the Crypt Keeper_ went off and Jason pulled back so fast he fell off the couch.

“Fuck!”

“Shit, are you okay?”

“I won’t be if I don’t find my phone!”

Jason struggled to his feet and dove through his backpack pockets until he found his cellphone. The caller ID said it was his father. Adrenaline already had Jason’s heart beating unnaturally fast, but giving himself time to think about why the fuck his Dad was calling him was making it worse. No, he knew what this was about. His Dad had found the letter.

Right before the call would’ve gone to voicemail Jason answered.

“Hey Da—”

“You disgraceful, spoiled piece of shit!” Jupiter’s voice boomed from the speaker. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Jason hung up. He hung up and immediately turned his phone off. He hung up, turned off his phone, and then just to be sure Jason took off the case and pulled out the battery. Only when the phone sat there with its black screen and dismantled insides did he feel even remotely safe.

“[Jason](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5jbIWAnQ7w)?”

Jason looked over his shoulder to where Nico was seated on the edge of the couch. He looked worried, so Jason flashed him a smile. He couldn’t see himself, but the edges of his mouth felt tight.

“What’s up?”

Nico furrowed his brows. “Who was that?”

“No one,” Jason said quickly. He stood up, walked over to Nico, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Want to rewind the movie?”

Nico’s jaw dropped. “Rewind the—what? Jason, tell me who called you.”

“I told you it was no one,” Jason said. His tone was clipped and hot. “It’s not a big deal.”

“I just watched you rip your phone battery out to make sure it didn’t start ringing again! Don’t tell me that’s not a big deal.”

Jason clenched his jaw. “Nico, I swear it’s not an issue. Let’s just watch our movie and—”

“No, absolutely not!” Nico shouted. He pushed himself to stand and planted his feet like he was preparing for battle. When he spoke again, though, his voice was so reasonable that it made Jason’s head throb. “You’ve been acting really weird lately and I want to know why. We can’t just start out our relationship keeping secrets from one another.”

“I’m not keeping secrets!” Jason said. “I’m just trying to figure some things out. I don’t want to have to bother you with this shit if I don’t have to.”

“But I want to help!” Nico said. “If you can’t figure it out on your own then maybe you should just trust me and we can figure it out together.”

“I said no, Nico! Now just fucking drop it because we’re not talking about this anymore!”

Jason’s chest was heaving. The room was too bright. He could smell the stew from earlier and it bothered him. It was all so fucking frustrating and scary, but none of that was half as bad as the look on Nico’s face. The knit browed, wide-eyed, dropped jaw expression of pure shock that Jason had put there.

Before Jason was able to pull himself together Nico rushed to his bedroom and shut the door. Jason tried to steady himself as realization hit him. His knees gave out and he slowly stumbled to the floor. He tried to play through the last couple minutes in his head, just to make sense of what happened to him, but he was stuck with nothing but white noise and brief flashes that he tried desperately to piece together. Every version of events made him look worse and worse though, and that left Jason horrified at the prospect of what his actions had done to Nico.

Jason wasn’t sure how long he sat there for—trying so hard to think and failing horribly—but when the door to Nico’s room opened he was able to snap back to consciousness.

Nico was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. The door was open. Jason slowly made his way over, but he stopped in the doorway and couldn’t move forward. He felt like he’d be pushing himself into Nico’s space if he walked in without permission.

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “None of that was your fault, and I’m so sorry I took it out on you.”

Nico’s eyes were trained on the sink. “I know,” he mumbled around his toothbrush. “Apology accepted.”

Jason still didn’t feel right.

“Nico… you were right. I’ve been acting weird lately, and it’s because of my Dad.”

Nico paused. He spit, set his toothbrush on the edge of the sink, and turned toward Jason with arms crossed over his chest. If there was ever a time to come clean it was now.

“I lied to you before. I never told my Dad about my major,” Jason admitted. He wanted nothing more than to look away to avoid Nico’s judgment, but he forced himself to keep eye contact. “I chickened out, and instead of telling him I wrote letter and put it in his desk the night before I left. When he called me earlier—” Jason paused and rubbed a hand over his face. “He definitely found the letter.”

Nico shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was ashamed,” Jason said. “You’ve helped me so much, and I felt like—I dunno, like I’d let you down.”

Jason watched Nico look away like he was thinking. He hoped to God Nico wasn’t going to break up with him, but Jason knew he’d deserve it. He lied and then took his guilt and fear out on Nico. That wasn’t something a good potential boyfriend would do. That was something his Dad would do.

“I really like you Jason,” Nico said. Jason braced himself for the pain of what he expected next. “I want to be in a relationship with you, and maybe it’s not the best idea to live together when we’re not even “together” yet, but I thought we could do it if we were open with one another.”

Jason winced. “I know. I know. I’m so sorry.”

Nico sighed and walked over to Jason who was still standing helplessly in the doorway. He opened his arms, and Jason stepped forward for a hug without thinking. Nico held Jason close, and Jason stroked Nico’s hair reverently. If Nico was giving him a second chance there was no way Jason was going to fuck it up.

“Please don’t do that again,” Nico whispered. “I can’t do this if you lie to me.”

“I swear I won’t,” Jason said. “I’m sorry, Nico. I swear I won’t do it again.”

“Okay.”

Nico pulled back, and Jason smiled at him. He felt tired. He wished none of this had ever happened, but it was too late to take back stupid mistakes. All he could do now was move on and try his damn hardest to never fuck up this bad again.

“You know we’re going to have more fights?” Nico asked. “It’s bound to happen with the two of us living together, and not all of them are going to end this easily.”

“I know,” Jason said. “But if I can do something to prevent the unnecessary fights then I’ll do it.”

“Me too.”

Jason leaned down and pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead. “We’ll make this work, Nico. I promise.”

“Just promise me to try,” Nico said. He looked almost pained, and Jason could feel the arms around his waist squeeze tighter. Jason leaned forward and nuzzled against Nico’s neck. The sensation of the cold tip of his nose against warm skin reminded him of home.

“I promise to try my hardest.”

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Guess who is awful and didn't realize her deadline was last week until it was too late? Sorry guys. OTL I think at this point I might have to state that my update schedule is two weeks off, two weeks on. That seems to be something I can keep up with, and at least this way I'm not leaving everyone hanging when I get a busy week!
> 
> So here's the first part of the start of Nico and Jason's relationship! Wow they're doing pretty... normal so far. I see a lot of fanfics where relationships are either too idyllic or far too dramatic in some situations, and since some of you have yet to experience a serious relationship yet I wanted to make sure I was delivering some real life expectations. Boyfriends are hard work, kids. Girlfriends are, too. Non-binary mates are, as well. Basically, relationships are hard work and I'm going to make Nico and Jason work hard. Will they get through it? Well, that's what chapters are for! I'll see you guys next week!
> 
> As always the wonderful [Phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) is my beta. Please check out some of his stuff since he's a lovely writer, and he deserves love and comments!


	11. Shot Through the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Love you, Thalia.”
> 
> “Love you too, Jason,” Thalia said. Her expression became somber, and when she spoke again her volume was low and her tone steady. “Think about what I said. I’d hate to see you fuck this up.”

“You need to talk to Dad before I kill him.”

“Thalia, don’t even joke, because I would seriously take you up on that offer.”

The sound of a hurricane siren going off blasted through Jason’s speakers and the Grace siblings groaned. Thalia picked up her phone and rejected the call, but as soon as she put it down it started ringing again.

“Just turn it off,” Jason said. “Please.”

“I’ll mute it.”

Jason hadn’t turned his phone back on since he’d removed the battery two weeks ago. In fact, it was still lying on the floor in a dismantled mess. Jason had tried to put it away at one point, but Nico had stopped him and told him to leave it there until he was ready to confront his father. When Jason asked why, Nico had only responded with: “Motivation.”

“Seriously Jason,” Thalia sighed. “I need you to call him. The bastard usually doesn’t bother with me unless there’s a social obligation, and even then that’s too much to handle. I can’t take another week of this!”

“I know!” Jason said. “I know. It’s just that every time I try to call him I panic and do other stuff instead. So far I’ve gotten three papers done early and cleaned every inch of the apartment.”

“Good for you baby brother, but that doesn’t solve my problem, and it really doesn’t solve yours either.”

Jason exhaled long and slow. Thalia was right. Nico was right. Piper and Leo were right. But he already knew that, didn’t he? The problem at hand wasn’t that Jason was in denial of the situation. The problem was a pathological fear of disappointing his father.

“I promise I’ll take care of it, Thalia, but not right now,” Jason said. His gaze swept over to the phone lying on the floor only a few feet away before snapping back to the monitor. “Nico’s helping me tackle things.”

Thalia scratched her chin. “Is he? That’s good. How is your thing going with him?”

“Our relationship?” Jason asked. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Thalia calling it a ‘thing’. “We’re doing well. I actually really, _really_ like him.”

“That’s good,” Thalia said offhandedly. “I’m glad.”

Jason frowned. “Okay what? What is it?”

Thalia sighed and waved at the air around her. “I duno, Jason. It’s not that I don’t approve of Nico, because from everything you’ve told me he seems to be a great kid, but I don’t know how I feel about you entering a relationship when you’re dealing with all this baggage.”

“Seriously?” Jason ran a hand over his face. “Thalia, he’s probably the one thing keeping me sane right now.”

“I understand that,” Thalia said, “but what’s good for you when you’re at a low isn’t always necessarily good for your relationship. I mean think about it: Is he your boyfriend or your therapist?”

“He’s neither,” Jason said. “We’re just dating.”

“And living together.”

“He’s helping me.”

Thalia held her hands up in surrender. “Fine. Obviously you don’t want to hear it, but let me make one more point: If you take too much emotional support, especially so early in the relationship, and you don’t make an effort to change for the better, then everything’s going to end in resentment. So before you try avoiding the issue with Dad any longer just think about the effect it’s going to have on this guy who’s sacrificing so much to keep you stable.”

Thalia’s honesty was frank and uncomfortable. None of the lectures Jason had received lately had cut at him so directly. Actually, they’d just served to regurgitate the same piece of advice that he’d already considered until it lost all meaning. This was more personal, though. This was suggesting long term implications that went beyond, “We’ll help you if your trust fund is cut off.”

“Fine. I get it. It’s time to surgically remove my head from my ass.”

“Thank you.” Thalia snorted, which put Jason in a better mood. “Though to be honest I feel like the reaction is pretty mild. I mean, Juno hasn’t called once.”

“Same actually,” Jason admitted. “Not that I want her to scream like a banshee directly into my ear, but the silence has me paranoid that I’m going to get home one day and she’s going to be waiting for me with one of her creepy-ass smiles and a kitchen knife.”

“Well, she _is_ a witch,” Thalia said with complete sincerity. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she has that ability.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re joking.”

“Safe to assume I’m not,” Thalia said. “Anyways, now that I’ve convinced you to see the error of your ways maybe now you’ll get Dad to stop calling me.”

“Don’t push it,” Jason said. “But I promise I’ll get to it. I just need to emotionally prepare myself first.”

Thalia shook her head. “There’s no preparing with Dad. You just go in with the expectation that he’ll treat you like shit for the rest of your life, and after that it can’t possibly get worse.”

“Thalia…” Sometimes he forgot how the disownment had affected her. “Our Dad is a giant douchebag.”

“Amen to that, brother! Amen to that!”

Jason chuckled. “Remember that time he was supposed to pick you up from art camp, but he forgot and ended up going on vacation instead?”

“Remember that time,” Thalia said, “that he got your middle name wrong while filling out your school forms?”

There was no shortage of bad-Dad stories for the Grace siblings. Jupiter had been disappointing his children since the day they moved in. Over the years Thalia and Jason had learned to lower their expectations, but a small part of Jason still hoped that maybe his father would change one day. If he kept on track and became someone that his father could be proud of would Jupiter finally become the Dad that Jason had always wanted?

“I have to go,” Thalia said. “I’ve got work in a couple hours and if I don’t lay down for a nap I’ll never be able to stay awake through my shift.”

“Alright then. Have a good shift.” Jason considered making a joke about the guys that flirted with her at the bar, but he was too tired to construct anything even remotely funny. “Love you, Thalia.”

“Love you too, Jason,” Thalia said. Her expression became somber, and when she spoke again her volume was low and her tone steady. “Think about what I said. I’d hate to see you fuck this up.”

With that parting message Thalia disconnected the call. Jason stared at her Skype profile with unfocused eyes. He exhaled—long and slow—before folding his arms on the table and burying his face in the sleeves of his sweater.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence Jason felt a pair of hands settle on his shoulders. He’d been so out-of-focus that he hadn’t heard the front door open, but Nico’s sudden appearance didn’t surprise him much. Nico moved with a quiet quickness that had been hard to adjust to at first. At this point Jason tried to accept the minor heart attacks as they came.  

Jason hummed as Nico began kneading the giant knot that had once been the muscles of his back. Nico had thin hands and long fingers, but those fingers had a surprising amount of strength behind them.

“Did you eat yet?”

Jason shook his head. “Thalia and I were talking for a while.” His voice was muffled by fabric. “How was class?”

“Average,” Nico said. “Do you want to eat?”

Jason sighed. “No, but I should.”

“Tomato soup, then?”

Jason sat up straight and tilted his head back to see Nico’s face. “Have I told you yet today what a beautiful man you are?”

“Just this morning when I brought you coffee in bed,” Nico said. He leaned down and place a kiss on the tip of Jason’s nose. “I’m going to deduct points if you start repeating compliments.”

Jason chuckled and slipped an arm around Nico’s waist. “What kind of points are you collecting?”

“Potential boyfriend points,” Nico said matter-of-factly. “You’re in a tight race with Ethan Nakamura from my Self-Medication Seminar.”

“Oh man, I should really step up my game,” Jason said. “I can’t have some random classmate sweep in and steal away the keeper of my heart.”

Nico rolled his eyes and flicked Jason on the forehead. “Smartass.”

Jason smirked and watched Nico make his way to the kitchen. When he disappeared through the doorway Jason listened for the sounds of a childhood he never had: A drawer sliding shut, a pot being place on the stovetop, the lid of a can being ripped back. At boarding school he was never allowed in the kitchens, and even though Juno had a professional line of cookware she always preferred to eat out. College had been the first time Jason had heard the comforting clatter of someone cooking for him.

“Will you make grilled cheese, too?”

“Are you going to make me pancakes tomorrow morning?” Nico asked.

Jason stood and walked over to the pass-through. “Bacon too.”

“Then yes,” Nico said as he opened the fridge to grab the pepper jack. “I’ll make grilled cheese.”

“Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Jason said with a wide, satisfied grin. “I wonder what kind of wine you pair that with?”

Nico snorted. “I think a 2002 Wiseass is a pretty good choice.”

“Good thing we have plenty of Wiseass on hand then, huh?” Jason remarked. Nico threw a piece of cheese at his face, but Jason just caught it and absently snacked on it while he watched Nico cook.

“Who taught you?” Jason asked after a couple minutes of watching Nico maneuver his way around the kitchen. “Because you’re too good for college cooking.”

“Hazel is used to the heartiness of the south,” Nico said. “So when she moved in and noticed I ate nothing but ramen noodles she staged an intervention.”

“She’s a pretty good teacher,” Jason said.

Nico rolled his eyes and sprinkled some dried basil flakes on top of the soup. “Her mistake spoon is a good teacher. Hazel herself answers almost every question by telling you that questions will never make you a better cook.”

Jason shrugged. “She’s kind of right.”

Nico nodded. “That she is.”

When the food was done Jason helped Nico carry their dishes into the living room, and the two settled at the table to eat. Their apartment was always warm—Nico liked to keep the heater on because he said he was prone to cold feet—but there was something about grilled cheese and tomato soup that made Jason feel like he had just come in from a walk in the snow and was having his first hot meal of the day.

“Food and internal warmth are very much tied to your psychological state,” Nico said when Jason confessed this to him. “Maybe your body is telling you that you’re neglecting your emotional health.”

“Gee, I wonder what could be the source of my inner turmoil.”

Nico took a slow sip of his soup and shrugged. “No need to get impatient. I know you’re tired of everyone telling you what to do, so if you think you’ll be better off if I stopped talking about it then just let me know.”

Jason frowned and reached across the table to hold Nico’s hand. “No, I’m sorry. That was a dick move on my part.”

“Well, I won’t deny that,” Nico said. He squeezed Jason’s hand and leaned across the table to kiss him. “But really, if there’s something I can do to help—even if that means staying away from the subject—then please tell me.”

“You do enough for me as it is,” Jason said. He kissed Nico’s knuckles and thought about how Nico’s hands were built to support. “I appreciate it—all of it—but for the time being can we talk about something else?”

“Absolutely.” Nico offered a smile. “What did you have in mind?”

With the tone of the conversation shifting to more neutral territory Jason allowed himself to relax. He took a bite of grilled cheese and winked at Nico. “Well, you know how Valentine’s Day is in a week, right?”

Nico raised a brow. “I’d happily forgotten, but please continue.”

“Aw, don’t say it like that!” Jason pouted playfully. “You know I’ve already begun to plan a very romantic evening for the two of us?”

For some reason Nico looked surprised. Jason wasn’t sure why, since he’d dropped plenty of hints in the last few weeks. Maybe the situation with his father had distracted Nico enough for Jason’s plans to go completely unnoticed.

“What are we doing?”

Jason laughed. “I’m not telling you now!” If anything this would probably help Jason make the night even better. “If you want to find out then I guess you’ll just have to accept my invitation.”

Nico crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t remember you extending an invitation, Jason Grace. I hope you don’t think I’m just going to accept without some sort of show of humility.”

Jason snorted, but the gears in his head started turning as he looked around for something to use as a prop. There was a bouquet of plastic daisies in the kitchen, and Jason got up to grab them right out of the vase. He moved back to the living room, got down on one knee in front of Nico’s chair, and held out his token of affection with a confident grin.

“Nico Di Angelo—beautiful vixen who has taken over my thoughts—” Jason heard Nico scoff and he had to fight back a laugh, “would you do me the immense honor of being my Valentine this February the fourteenth—the most sacred day of lovers?”

Nico’s lips were twitching. Jason thought it was adorable.

“Well, Jason Grace,” Nico said, his voice shaking with humor. “I’ve taken it into consideration, and I think…” he plucked the fake flowers from Jason’s hands and pretended to smell them. “I think I can be your Valentine. You’re lucky you brought such a persuasive gift.”

Jason smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. He pulled Nico forward—off the chair and into his lap—and kissed him deep. Nico whacked him with the fake bouquet, but their kiss went uninterrupted until their soup went cold in the bowls.

 

It was Valentine’s Day and four feet of fresh snow powdered the ground. Jason had hoped earlier that day—while staring through the window during his Sociology class that wasn’t as interesting as Professor Smith’s—that the snow would stop before his date with Nico. The stars were on his side it seemed, and now with the sun sliding from the center of the sky Jason was eager to leave.

“Are you ready?” he asked, bouncing on his heels.

“I would’ve gotten ready sooner if you’d told me how to dress,” Nico chided. He closed the door to his room and furrowed his brows. “Do I look okay?”

Jason had told Nico to dress warm. A pair of dark-wash jeans, a red sweater, a thick, brown peacoat, and a pair of heavy boots; he looked nice, and he’d probably be warm enough. Still, Jason could help but wonder if that wasn’t enough.

“You’re gorgeous,” Jason said as he reached for scarf. It was a dark green color and complimented Nico’s outfit well. “But I don’t want you to be cold.”

Nico huffed. “I won’t be cold, Jason.”

“Mm hm,” Jason hummed. He tied the scarf tight around Nico’s neck and, once satisfied, leaned forward to give Nico a quick peck on the cheek. “Perfect. Don’t forget your gloves on the way out.”

“You’re such a mom, Jason,” Nico chuckled. He grabbed his gloves and made his way out the front door. “Are you going to hold my hand as I cross the street, too?”

Jason smiled as he locked up the apartment. “You bet I’m going to hold your hand as we cross the street. I’m going to hold your hand every opportunity I get.”

Nico laced his fingers with Jason’s and grinned. “Good.”

The first stop on Jason’s Exciting Valentine’s Extravaganza lay at the end of a thirty minute trip outside of the city. Jason could tell that Nico was growing more curious as each stop on the metro passed without them getting off. When they finally exited the train at Bergkrystallen he finally voiced his uncertainties.

“Where are we going?” Nico asked.

To be fair the area they were in was quite rural, and Jason was sure Nico didn’t like the idea of being out here when daylight was quickly burning. Still, Jason had a plan. Nico would see.

“I think our ride should be here any minute,” Jason assured.

And just like that an old, beaten up pick-up truck pulled up in front of them. Professor Smith was at the wheel—smiling like the jolly old man he was—and he motioned for the boys to jump into the truck bed.

“I’ve got a blanket back there in case you two get cold!” he called.

Nico blinked owlishly, mouth agape. “Professor Smith? What are you doing here?”

“You can ask questions later, Mr. Di Angelo,” Professor Smith said. “For now, if you’d like to make it to Jason’s surprise by sunset, then I suggest you hop in!”

Jason beamed as Nico’s head snapped in his direction. This was the kind of reaction he was hoping for, but as much as he loved seeing Nico stare at him with wide-eyed shock they really were running short on time. So Jason popped the tail gate open, climbed into the back, and held his hand out to help Nico up. After a moment of hesitation Nico grabbed his hand, and once they were settled in Jason banged on the side of the truck and Professor Smith rolled out.

“So what do you think?” Jason asked once they were rumbling through the trees. “Surprised?”

“That’s an understatement,” Nico said. “We haven’t even gotten to our destination yet.”

“You’re damn right,” Jason said. “And it’ll only get better from here.”

Nico snorted and shook his head. “At this point I’d be a fool not to believe you.”

Jason flushed with glee. The first big event on his long list of treats for the night had gone off without a hitch. If he could make this night perfect—perfect for Nico, perfect for himself, perfect for Them—then maybe Jason could finally show Nico just how much he appreciated everything that made Jason crazy about him.

When Nico scooted closer and pressed their sides together Jason naturally wrapped an arm around him. Professor Smith’s blanket was folded neatly at his feet, and there it would stay. The sting of cold air made Jason feel alive, and the way that Nico’s eyes lit up when Sognsvann finally became visible through the trees made him feel invincible.

 

“Did you lace your skates up tight?” Jason asked.

“You need to stop fussing,” Nico said. Jason watched him make his unsteady way from the snow bank to the ice. “I’ve gone ice skating before.”

Jason blushed. “I know, but these are unfamiliar skates, you know? I’m just glad they fit.” He paused. “They fit, right?”

“They fit,” Nico assured. He slowly skated over to Jason and grabbed his hand. “I just wish I was a better skater.”

“Nonsense! Haven’t you seen the movies?” Jason began skating backwards and gently guided Nico along with him. “It’s always more romantic when one partner is a considerably better skater than the other.”

“Is that so?” Nico asked. His eyes were on his feet but his sarcasm was focused on Jason. “I guess I haven’t seen that one.”

“Oh, I definitely suggest it,” Jason teased. He moved a little faster as Nico became more sure of his footing. “It utilizes the ‘oops I slipped and fell on top of you’ trope. A dear favorite of mine.”

Nico briefly looked up to cock a brow at Jason. “ _That’s_ your favorite romcom trope?”

“Um, yeah.” Jason reached down to put a bend in Nico’s knees. “What’s your favorite trope?”

Nico was quiet for a moment—whether in contemplation or concentration Jason wasn’t sure—and they slowly made their way out to the middle of the lake. This time of winter it was completely frozen over, and Professor Smith had said he’d park close enough to hear them if they hollered for him.

“Best friends to lovers,” Nico said.

Jason chuckled. “Best friends to lovers? Really?”

Nico shrugged. “The history is already established and the sexual tension is rife. Who wouldn’t like that?”

“Fair enough,” Jason said. “Though that’s more of an entire plot than it is a scene.”

“What’s your favorite romantic comedy?” Nico asked. He was able to skate without support now, but Jason kept holding his hand anyway.

“ _Crazy, Stupid Love_ ,” he said with certainty. “What about you?”

“ _10 Things I Hate About You_ ,” Nico said.

“Ah, a classic?” Jason thought it was a fitting choice. “I’m glad I’m dating someone with good taste.”

Nico let out a barking laugh and almost fell over. “As if you didn’t think I had good taste before? Besides, what would you know about taste? I saw you put prosciutto on your sandwich yesterday—your sandwich stuffed with nasty American cheese and slathered in mayo.”

“Hey, it was delicious!” Jason defended. He laughed and looped his arm through Nico’s. “Though I guess this means you’re going to have to teach me how to better my palette.”

“A good palette can’t be taught, Jason,” Nico said as they spun in a quick circle. “Though from the few times I’ve gotten up-close-and-personal with your palette, I can tell you have potential.”

Jason’s brain short-circuited just long enough for him to trip on a scratch in the ice and go tumbling down. Nico, unfortunately, went down with him, and the two ended up in a heap on the frozen lake. Luckily, neither of them had hit their heads, and once the initial surprise and panic wore off Jason was able to laugh.

“See? I told you this trope was perfect.”

 

When the sky turned pink Jason led Nico back to solid ground and the two hitched a ride in Professor Smith’s pick-up back to town. Jason was lucky he’d run his idea by the man before Professor Smith left for his friend’s house near the lake, because Jason realized that they probably would’ve gotten lost if they’d walked like he originally planned. They did end up using the blanket once the sun went down—the wind chill was too much and it had started snowing again—but the drive was much quicker than the train and Professor Smith dropped them off at the perfect spot.

“Enjoy your Valentine’s Day, boys!” he said. “Stay warm, alright?”

“Thanks Professor!” Jason called. “See you on Tuesday.”

Once Professor Smith drove off Jason led Nico down the well-lit sidewalks of Frogner until they reached Gabelsgate. This part of Oslo was known for being reserved for the wealthiest of the wealthy—a place his parents would probably live if they ever decided to buy a home in Norway—and of course that meant that the best restaurant in the city was here. Getting a reservation for the fourteenth had seemed close to impossible when he initially called the Hos Thea, but once he dropped his last name the host was practically tripping over himself trying to get Jason a table. The irony of that wasn’t lost on him. If his Dad wasn’t going to be a descent father at least he was good for something.

“Welcome to Hos Thea,” the perfectly groomed hostess said upon their arrival. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Two for Jason Grace.”

The young woman scanned the list and nodded. She led Nico and Jason to a private little table away from the center of the floor and handed them menus and the wine list. The first thing Jason eyed were the prices, which were actually reasonable considering the kind of reviews this place had gotten on Tripadvisor. Their bill would definitely be in the triple digits, but at least he wouldn’t be breaking the bank.

“This place is really nice.”

Jason set his menu down and flashed a smile. “I’m glad you like it.”

In the dim mood-lighting Jason could barely see Nico’s cheeks flush with color. He looked so good like that. Not blushing, necessarily, but so wholly uncertain of what to do with himself in such a nice place dressed so smart. Nico was the opposite of this—he was casual and witty and sometimes a little dirty—but at the same time Jason could see him growing into this type of place. Maybe he’d never grow out of being the guy who wore the same jacket and jeans for three straight weeks in a row, but sophistication suited him, and Jason saw him ten years in the future sitting in this exact spot looking like he’d been raised in the veil of high society.

“What were you thinking of ordering?” Jason asked, his voice light and sweet.

Nico’s eyes scanned the menu and bit his lip. “What were _you_ thinking of ordering?”

Jason chuckled. So considerate even when he was being spoiled rotten. “Well, I was looking at the Weekly Menu. How does deer tenderloin sound?”

“That sounds amazing, actually,” Nico said. He sounded like his mouth was close to watering. “The scallops look amazing, too.”

“Then the scallops and the deer it is. What about wine?”

“Well, red goes well with meat,” Nico said, “but white goes well with seafood. And before you say anything—no, we’re not getting both.”

“It’s okay,” Jason said, smile fixed on his face like a good mood. “I know you prefer red.”

After their waiter took their orders it didn’t take much longer than fifteen minutes before their food was out. It was so good that Nico and Jason didn’t say a word to one another until their plates were almost clean. Upon realizing what happened they laughed nervously, set their forks down, and took a moment to re-orient themselves from the Nirvana that was their dinner.

“So is yours good?” Jason asked teasingly.

Nico laughed and nodded. “Amazing, actually. Don’t get me used to this kind of stuff or I’m going to start craving it.”

“Same. I think this place has to be a ‘once in a blue moon’ sort of treat,” Jason joked. His expression then shifted to something more sincere and he took hold of Nico’s hand under the table. “But really—I’m happy you’re enjoying yourself so far.”

The small of Jason’s back tingled pleasantly when Nico ran his thumb over the back of his hand. Jason had noticed how Nico showed appreciation through touch. He didn’t hug much, but the spread of a palm on his shoulder or he swift run of fingers through his hair said much more than words could express. This was one of those touches that Jason felt held a lot of gravity in its tenderness.

“Where are we going to be [years from now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4gyB-IWU00), Nico?” Jason asked.

Nico blinked. “You mean... as a…” He gestured between them.

“No! No, as people,” Jason clarified. “Ignoring the things we _hope_ are going to happen, what do you _know_ will happen in your future? No matter what.”

“No matter what?” Nico asked. His gaze drifted upward and he subconsciously squeezed Jason’s hand. “Well, I know I’m going to be a therapist like I want. My goal is to help people, and even if I don’t become rich off of it I know I’ll enjoy my job. As far as my personal life goes, though...”

There was a pause and Nico toyed with one of the garnishes on his dish with his fork. It was a hard question. Now more than ever Jason’s future was a fog of uncertainty, and usually thinking about it made him feel nauseous and lazy. Tonight, though, there was no stress. Tonight they were playing a question game during a date, and Jason was waiting with eager patience to hear what Nico wanted out of life.

“I guess the one thing I know I’ll have in the future is a family. Not just my father and sister, either. I mean… a real family. With a husband, and friends, and maybe even some kids if things go that way. No matter what, though, I know I’ll have people to love that love me just as much.”

Jason’s breath caught. It was so simple, but at the same time it was something even he ached for: A safe, supportive group of loved ones that he could trust with his life. Had he ever had that before he left for college? In Reyna and Thalia, yes, but back then he’d been young and hadn’t known how to reciprocate that kind of unconditional love. With Leo and Piper he’d gotten closer—where he wanted to help and protect and give his all—but this was different. Nico was a new iteration. He didn’t just make Jason want to give—he made Jason feel vulnerable enough to receive. It was the most terrifying thing he’d ever had to accept in his life, but he knew that Nico made him want to love the ones closest to him more wholly than he had before.

“What about you?” Nico asked. “What do you see in your future.”

Jason swallowed. Right now Nico’s hand was his support—his lifeline to reassurance that everything would be okay even if it wasn’t perfect right at that moment.

“Well, I don’t know what kind of job I’ll have or what kind of relationship I’ll have with my father, but I am certain of a few things. Thalia will be by my side. Reyna will continue to motivate me. Piper and Leo will be my closest, most important friends. And…”

Nico leaned forward, expression rapt and earnest. “And?”

Jason blushed. “I’m going to stop feeling guilty for being myself.”

The warmest smile spread across Nico’s face. He leaned forward, and Jason automatically went in for a kiss.

“I think that sounds like a wonderful future,” Nico said.

“I hope you’re there to see it,” Jason admitted. “Whether we’re still this—” he squeezed Nico’s hand, “—or not.”

Nico sucked in a breath and Jason watched his eyes flutter. “Jason Grace, you sound like you’re…”

“Like I’m what?”

Nico looked at him then—he really, really looked. His eyes were tender brown and glowed in the candlelight. His lips were parted just barely. His palm was slightly sweaty. He shook his head.

“You sound like you’re ready for dessert. Our order came with a soufflé, right?”

It wasn’t like Nico to change the subject like that. Usually he was an advocate for getting your thoughts out before they could fester. Curiosity burned in the pit of Jason’s stomach, but Nico’s uncharacteristic unease was what kept him silent. He wasn’t ready yet, and Jason wouldn’t be the one to force him to do something before he was ready.

Luckily dessert provided a good distraction in the sheer quality of their chocolate-almond soufflé. Jason had had a soufflé once before and had deemed it a disgusting dessert for its eggy taste. This was on a whole other level, though. It was sweet, and nutty, and rich to the point where Jason contemplated ordering another. It was the perfect end to dinner, and by the time they left the restaurant the unfinished statement from earlier had completely left Jason’s mind.

The bus ride back to campus was filled with flirtatious witticisms and playful pushes. When they got off at the UO stop the sky was unusually clear, so Jason suggested they take the long way back to the apartment and enjoy the view. They walked arm-in-arm along the snowy sidewalks and shared stories about the disastrous Valentine’s Days they’d survived in the past. It was perfect, because the night had gone exactly how Jason had wanted it to go and he couldn’t ask for more.

Yet more the universe gave.

“Woah! Look! Falling star!” Jason exclaimed while pointing wildly at the sky. “Hurry and make a wish!”

The two were quiet for a moment as they stood there serious concentration. It was probably a little juvenile, but college did weird things to a person’s system of beliefs, and sometimes falling stars were more dependable than your trust in yourself. As Jason stood there, though, he couldn’t think of anything that he could wish for that would make him happier than he was at that moment. His luck had gone so well all day, and that had led to one of the best dates of his life. That kind of success was reassuring. It made Jason feel like no matter what went wrong, something amazing would always go right.

“Nico,” Jason said once they were out of the trance of the falling star. “I’m going to call my Dad when we get home and talk to him about the letter.”

Nico’s eyes widened, and in the next moment he slammed into Jason with a hug and started singing his praises. Jason laughed—loving the reaction as much as he loved the relief that was settling in his chest. For the first time since he got the phone call he felt confident enough to talk to his father.

“Come on. Let’s go home,” Nico said once they were both back on their feet. “You’ve got a phone call to make.”

The rest of the way back Jason felt like he was walking on air. Nico seemed just as excited for him as he was for himself, and that only served to strengthen Jason’s resolve. Once they reached their apartment Jason turned to Nico and smiled.

“This is it—no more worrying,” Jason said as he unlocked the door. “I can’t fucking wait.”

“Then hurry up!” Nico urged as he nudged at Jason’s back. As soon as the door was open Jason was being pushed inside.

“Alright we’re home!” Jason laughed. “No need to be so—”

Jason’s heart stopped as his eyes focused on a figure at the end of the hall. No fucking way.

“Dad?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Mid-week update--I know it's unusual--and I'm late on top of it! Midterms were last week, though, so I found myself circling the drain of stress and school an fanfiction got put way off. Also, I actually finished this chapter last night, but then my internet went out! The Universe was saying something mamma mia.
> 
> Introducing the re-introduction of chapter songs! For a while I thought people weren't interested in them so I held off on adding them, but I recently got some positive feedback and curious questions on where the songs had gone so now they're back! I'm sorry I can't get them to open in a new tab (I've tried changing the code) so please right-click if you want to stay on the page!
> 
> Cliffhanger! Ooooooh!!!
> 
> See you (hopefully) next week!


	12. Death of the Decades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You better shut the fuck up right now Jason or I will sl—”
> 
> “Slap me into place?” Jason asked. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one. You’ve been threatening to do that since I was six!”
> 
> “Then maybe I should’ve carried through!” Jupiter roared.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Jason asked breathlessly. “How did you get _in_ here?”

Jupiter scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I pay your rent, Jason. Are you stupid enough to think the landlords wouldn’t unlock the door for me?”

Jason flinched. All the confidence he’d found earlier was gone. What was left was a six year old boy and his big, scary father.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked again. This time he couldn’t look his father in the eye.

“I’m here because you decided you weren’t enough of a man to speak to me in person,” Jupiter said. “So you better fucking sit down.”

Jason reflexively took a step back. Jupiter Grace had never hit either of his children, but the threat of being “slapped into place” had kept both Jason and Thalia sufficiently terrified growing up. Now, even as an adult, Jason felt his knees shake as his father used The Angry Voice. It was the tone of his words—an inflection of brutality that was successful in instilling guilt, dread, and obedience all at once. Jason was so caught up the swell that he forgot Nico was still in the room until he felt the anchoring pressure of a hand resting against the small of his back.

Jason turned around—putting himself between Nico and his father—and flashed a smile that died out almost instantly. Nico was worried. Jason could see it in the lines of his brows and the tightness of his lips. He was waiting for Jason to give him permission to confront Jupiter, but Jason wasn’t going to let him. As afraid as he was of his father there was no way Jason was going to pull Nico into a stressful situation. He’d done enough as it was, and now it was Jason’s turn to be the protector.

“Can you go down to the store and get some groceries for tomorrow?” Jason asked. “I think we’re out of eggs, and we’re low on milk and juice.”

The fold between Nico’s eyebrows became more defined, and he peeked around Jason to catch a glimpse of The Great and Terrible Bastard for himself. Jason didn’t like the idea of his Dad seeing Nico. Ridiculous scenarios of Jupiter tracking him down from memory played  his head, and he quickly side-stepped in order to cut off all possible eye-contact.

“Please?” Jason begged, sounding a bit more harried and desperate.

Nico let out a long sigh. Jason was afraid he was going to have to fight him on this, but a second later Nico nodded. They shared a quick kiss and Nico grabbed his coat before walking out the door.

With Nico out of the apartment Jason could breathe again, but that luxury only lasted until he turned around and saw his father still standing there. This time Jupiter looked as though he’d been caught off-guard. His eyes were wider, and instead of looking down his nose at Jason his head was level and pointed straight at the door.

“Who was that?”

Jason grit his teeth. “My roommate, and before you ask we _are_ dating, but if you say one word about him I swear—”

“Oh shut up,” Jupiter barked. It seemed the moment of shock had passed, and now he was back to his normal level of asshole. “I meant a name, but that’s really not important.”

“No, you’re right,” Jason said. “That’s really not important right now.”

There was a friction in the air between them. The interlude with Nico had given Jason just enough time to gather his wits from where the initial shock had scattered them. With his blood now pumping hot Jason didn’t find Jupiter as intimidating as before. Now he was a man who’d flown across the ocean and broken into their apartment. Why? Probably to catch Jason off-guard. It was a cowardly tactic—and that was true even given Jason’s own cowardly transgressions over the past month—but as Jason made his way into the living room he still refused to stand within arms-length of this father.

“So what do you want?” Jason asked.

Jupiter’s chest swelled. “Don’t take that tone of voice with me. I am your father!”

“I’d rather not be reminded,” Jason mumbled. “Just tell me what you want and we can get this over with.”

Apparently that wasn’t the type of response Jupiter was looking for. The vein slowly throbbing in his forehead was the only indication of his anger, but Jason knew it was a precursor to a blow-out.

 “First of all _boy_ , how dare you insult me by leaving this—” Jupiter pulled Jason’s letter out of his coat pocket and threw it on the floor between them, “—in my office. What kind of pathetic man does a thing like that?”

“It wasn’t my bravest moment,” Jason admitted. “I know that! I completely own up to not having the guts to talk to you in person, and I’m sorry it had to come down to you coming here just to confront me.”

Again Jupiter seemed frustrated by the response. Jason could hear the teeth grinding. It was a habit Juno often scolded him for, and so Jupiter only resorted to it when his nerves were out of his control.

“Don’t think trying to step up now is going to save you.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think it would save me. I was just taking responsibility for my actions like a fucking adult.”

“Watch your language!”

“You’re not here to talk about my language!”

“I am your father,” Jupiter exclaimed, “and it doesn’t matter what I’m here to talk about. You will fucking respect me and hold your smug little comments in from this point forward! Do you understand?”

Jason only narrowed his eyes. He and his father stared at one another for a moment—Jupiter waiting for Jason to obediently say he understood and Jason waiting for Jupiter to get on with it. Jason felt his body start to sweat—maybe with nerves—but he kept his face steely. Eventually Jupiter looked away with a scoff and gripped the back of the couch.

“Coming here has obviously stripped you of all common sense and manners,” Jupiter said. “We’re leaving on the first flight out tomorrow.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jason said.

Jupiter rounded on his son with a look of pure murder in his eyes. When he spoke, however, his voice was mostly even except for the tightness of his words.

“How exactly do you expect to live here, hm?” Jupiter asked. He gestured around the apartment and kept his gaze locked challengingly with Jason’s. “I pay for this apartment. I pay for your tuition. I pay for everything, and without me you have nothing.”

“I can take out loans,” Jason said. “I’ve spoken to people about the FAFSA and applying for scholarships.”

“Oh, so you’ve been planning this, have you?” Jupiter asked. “Were your… ‘scholarship’ friends the ones who convinced you it was alright to change your major? Was it that Valdez kid or that Reyna girl from your high school? I knew it was a bad idea to let you associate with those people.”

Every bend on Jason’s body flared with heat. “What the fuck does that mean?” he asked. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and stepped forward. “Just so you fucking know neither of them told me to switch my major, and even if they did I wouldn’t have changed it unless I actually wanted to!”

“So you’re saying you decided to pick decades of unavoidable debt over having a respectable career all on your own?” Jupiter shook his head. “If that’s the case you’re a lot dumber than I thought you were.”

“At this point I honestly have to say that debt is preferable to ending up as miserable and pathetic as you!”

Jupiter’s jaw clenched tight. “What did you say to me?”

“Don’t even pretend like you’re happy, Dad!” Jason shouted. “You fuck people over for a living, you’ve been cheating on your wife since before you were married, you’ve disowned one child, are threatening to disown another, and the only people who bother with you are people looking to get something out of you. You’re an asshole and I would gladly spend the rest of my life paying off college loans if it meant I didn’t have to end up like you.”

“You better shut the fuck up right now Jason or I will sl—”

“Slap me into place?” Jason asked. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one. You’ve been threatening to do that since I was six!”

“Then maybe I should’ve carried through!” Jupiter roared.

“If you had been a real father you’d never have to!” Jason shot back. Now his entire body was hot with anger and he was sure his face was flushed with the indignation of years under the thumb of a controlling, abusive parent. “A parent whose first resort is to threaten physical violence is hardly a parent. You were a checkbook who could hit us and that’s all you ever were.”

“I raised you!”

“Thalia raised me!” Jason said. “Thalia took me to school, and cooked me dinner, and read me books, and helped me with my homework. No matter what I did Thalia was there while you gallivanted around with your mistresses and business partners, and now that I’m finally pulling away from you you think you can still call yourself my father?”

Jupiter stormed over to Jason and got right in his face. “You are my flesh and blood,” he growled, “I aided in your birth, I provided for you, and I gave you a good education. _That_ is what a father does. I’m not going to coddle my son to the point of patheticism in the name of bullshit, new-age parenting.

“ _I_ appreciated everything my father gave me growing up. He never held my hand or told me I was a winner when I wasn’t, and _look at me_! I’m rich, I’m successful, and I’m respected by everyone except for my own two **fucking** children!” Jupiter picked up a picture frame from one of the end tables and chucked it Jason—just barely missing him. “I should’ve never allowed your sister to stay with us. It’s obvious she poisoned you and turned you against me.”

“Would you stop blaming other people for my decisions?” Jason asked through grit teeth. He could feel sweat forming on his scalp and he hoped his father couldn’t tell. “Can’t you just admit that I’m being critical of you because you _deserve_ it? No one—not a single person I know and love—is trying to turn me against you! Not even Thalia.”

“So then what made you think you had the right to make such a decision?” Jupiter asked. “If no outsiders are fucking with your impressionable mind than _what_ has made you such an insolent brat? 

“Are you kidding me?” Jason pulled at his hair almost desperately. “It’s _my_ education! If I want to change my major then I should be allowed to. It’s about time you learned that just because someone doesn’t pick _your_ choice that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”

Of course Jason wouldn’t be able to undo decades of damaging narcissism in a single fight. He didn’t expect that at all. At the very least, though, Jason wanted his father to acknowledge he’d made the decision for himself. If that was the only thing Jason accomplished then he would consider the night a success.

“Well then, Ms. Independent,” Jupiter said, his voice cool as ice, “you’re going to stand by this decision? You’re going to ruin your life, and disrespect your mother and me all for a degree in a field that will leave you penniless and miserable?”

Jason shook his head. “I’m not ruining my life. Sociology—it makes sense to me. Studying it makes me happy, and for the first time I’m doing something for _myself_.”

Jupiter stood tall and grabbed Jason by the front of his coat. When he spoke his voice was low like the rumbling of threats and those moments before a jump scare in a movie. The vein on his head was still throbbing, his teeth were still grinding, and his grip was white-knuckle tight.

“Then don’t expect to be any son of mine,” Jupiter said. “From this day forward you can cling to your traitorous bitch of a sister. Both of you are [dead to me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3g0d6Cgqyg).”

He shoved Jason against the wall and—with one last glance of disgust—Jupiter turned and marched out of the apartment. Jason listened to the door slam with a small jump. Things were finally silent. Jason was alone with his thoughts and a looming sense of finality.

Numbly Jason pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to the couch. He sat and stared at his hands in his lap for what felt like a very long time. His entire body was hot and thrumming with energy, but he couldn’t figure out where all of that energy was going. Whenever he tried to latch on to a particular thought his mind would run away from him, so Jason was left feeling hollow. Hollow and somehow… emotionless. For whatever reason that didn’t feel quite right.

The sound of the front door clicking had Jason standing up ready for a fight. When he saw Nico, though, his shoulders dropped and he managed to pull a very tired smile.

“I see you didn’t get any milk,” Jason said. He chuckled. “Do we need to go out again?”

Nico crossed the room in four long strides and pulled Jason into a hug. Initially Jason was surprised by the action, but he wrapped his arms around Nico without complaint and burrowed his face against the crook of his neck. Before long the prickling soreness of emotion gathered in the back of Jason’s throat and in his nose and eyes. He hid his face further—trying so hard to stop himself before he actually started to cry—but when the first tear fell it was all over.

Violent, full-bodied sobs forced their way up from the deepest part of Jason’s stomach and tore through his throat. It hurt, but if Jason tried to stop them they’d claw at his chest until he was on the verge of breaking and find their way out. His forehead and nose were also throbbing, but more with the ache of weighted hurt than with the angriness that the sobs caused. Liquid was everywhere, and Jason was acutely aware that he was probably covering Nico in a disgusting mess of snot, tears, and saliva that he couldn’t control. It made Jason feel _guilty_ , and that made him cry harder and harder until finally Nico had to lead him to the couch where he could safely release the built up tension without bringing them both to the floor.

“It’ s okay,” he heard Nico whisper. “I’m here, Jason. It’s okay.”

Jason wanted to thank Nico, but the only thing he could do was hold Nico tighter and clutch desperately at his shirt. In one of those brief moments of clarity that came during an outpouring of emotion, Jason realized that he was still fully dressed from before. As a result his face and body felt hot and restricted, and he began to tear at his coat and boots and scarf like he was angry at _them_. Luckily for Jason Nico was able to tell what was going on, and he rested steady hands over Jason’s and helped him slowly, steadily remove all of the layers that were causing him discomfort. When he was down to his slacks and button-up Jason realized just how hot he’d been. The entire front and back of his shirt was soaked in sweat and if his pants weren’t black he knew there’d be visible marks of perspiration there as well.

“Do you want water?” Nico asked.

“No no don’t leave,” Jason said. “Please.”

To Jason, it was amazing that Nico had the will to rest a hand on his clammy, disgusting forehead for the sake of giving him comfort. Usually Nico’s hands were a little soft and damp (he got sweaty palms when he was nervous), but to Jason they felt refreshingly cool.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to grab you some water from the kitchen, okay?”

Jason nodded and moved to allow Nico to get up. He waited anxiously as Nico rummaged around the kitchen, and when he came back with a glass of cold water Jason eagerly accepted it with shaking hands.

“Drink the whole thing, okay? I think you might be a little dehydrated.”

Jason nodded and downed the entire glass. The rush of cold liquid immediately cooled his body, and besides the odd feeling of rapidly warming water settling in his stomach he felt much better. So when Nico suddenly began dabbing his face with a cold cloth Jason couldn’t help but let out a small, sad sound of appreciation.

“You’re too good to me,” Jason said. His voice scratched over the words. “God… Nico you deserve so much.”

“Everyone goes through rough times, Jason,” Nico said softly. He cleaned up the sweat and snot without batting an eye. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t help you pick up the pieces?”

They both caught it. Jason looked up and Nico paused for a split second. Neither said anything, though. It was a slip of the tongue, and delving into the issue now wouldn’t be appropriate. Still, Jason appreciated the sentiment.

“I still think I’m not good enough for you,” Jason sighed. “How could I ever even begin to make up for all the support you’ve given me?”

“Don’t think about it,” Nico said. He kissed Jason’s now clean, cool cheek and offered a smile. “We’re figuring this out together. I’m sure I’ll give you a reason to pick up my pieces eventually.”

Jason smiled and pulled Nico into a hug. He knew he was a sweaty mess, but he _needed_ to show Nico how grateful he was. What better way than tactile affection?

“Why don’t you take a shower?” Nico suggested once they separated. “I’m sure you feel uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He frowned and eyed the wet spot on Nico’s shirt. “I won’t be long. You can shower right after me.”

“Take your time,” Nico insisted. “Showers and baths work magic for the soul.”

“Okay… but really, Nico? Thank you.”

Nico squeezed Jason’s hand. “Of course. Now go and take your shower, and I’ll see if I can torrent _Crazy, Stupid, Love_.”

Jason made his way to the bathroom with a smile on his face. Yes, he’d thought the night was perfect just an hour ago, and in the end something upsetting and awful had occurred. At the same time he couldn’t bring himself to stay in an emotional low. Things were going to be okay. Nico was with him, Valentine’s Day was still going, and the issue with his father was finally over. There was no need to worry anymore.

After all, The Universe would always make sure things worked out just fine in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter 12! But yes! Short, short chapter this time around. I couldn't stretch it much farther than this without things seeming out of place, so I hope this is satisfying enough!
> 
> I'm not even going to pretend that I know what the update schedule is anymore, but I guess just expect two chapters a month. Even then don't hold me to that (I'm so sorry). Being an adult is weird and I'm still not used to it. But thanks for always being patients guys!
> 
> Thanks to my two betas: [Phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) who always does amazing work with helping my writing and the lovely [Shiningdraw](http://shiningdraw.tumblr.com/) who always combs through my chapters and helps me catch my errors! Please check out their stuff!


	13. Storms Overhead Are Churning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well I’m glad your sister is doing well,” Jason said after finishing off his cocoa. “Did you say hi to her for me?”
> 
> “I did,” Nico said. “She wants to meet you.”
> 
> Jason set his cup on the desk and furrowed his brows. “Like in person?”
> 
> “No, just Skype,” Nico clarified. “She says if you’re going to be my boyfriend she needs to approve of your first.”
> 
> A giddy sort of half-smile wormed its way onto Jason’s face. “Is that what we are now? Boyfriends?”
> 
> Nico set his cup on the nightstand and threw a smirk in Jason’s direction. “You tell me, Grace.”

Relief and listlessness occupied Jason in the two weeks following his father’s visit. As happy as he was to finally have his “secret” decision out in the open, Jason knew things weren’t over yet. See, Jupiter Grace didn’t like to consider any fight finished until he came out the complete and utter victor. He would enact the most damaging revenge he could—whether it be monetary, personal, or emotional—and all in the name of spite.

Not even Jupiter’s children were exempt from this treatment. When Thalia first started living on her own things between her father and her had been surprisingly cordial in spite of the explosive argument they’d had before she left. It wasn’t until the annual family Christmas card was sent out with a public declaration that Thalia had been disowned that either of the Grace siblings understood the extent of their father’s wrath.  Now it was Jason’s turn, and if twelve years under his father’s roof had taught him anything it was that he should be nervous about what was next to come.

“Hey are you okay?”

“Oh um…” Jason stared at Nico for a moment. He was in a pair of gray sweat pants and one of Jason’s purple NYU t-shirts. He was so compact—all skinny legs and long torso and sharp shoulders packed together to form a human being who really didn’t make up that much space, yet whose curves and angles aligned in such an aesthetically pleasing way. A sudden urge to grab Nico and pull him into his lap swelled in Jason like a hot balloon. Then it was gone. “I’m a little distracted.”

Nico walked over to the couch and sat down, laying his legs over Jason’s thighs. “Distracted how?” he asked.

Jason hummed ran his thumb over Nico’s ankle. “Like… my different thoughts are flickering light bulbs, and every time I go to change one another starts to go out, and without thinking about it I go to change the new bulb without finishing the one I was working on.”

“Sounds like anxiety mixed with a little depression,” Nico said. He ran his fingers over the back of Jason’s neck and Jason shivered in satisfaction. “It’s normal—don’t worry.”

“Any idea how long it’ll last?” Jason asked.

“Unfortunately no,” Nico said. He began to fiddle with Jason’s ear and Jason smiled. “But I offer you my novice, undergraduate psychological services free of charge. Twenty four-seven—unless I’m asleep.”

Jason smiled wider and leaned forward until he had Nico trapped beneath him on the couch. Nico didn’t even pretend to shove him off this time. He just carded his fingers over Jason’s scalp and accepted light kisses as they came. That’s why Nico was so good. He was so good and Jason could barely believe they were together.

“Hey,” Nico whispered after Jason finished covering his face in butterfly kisses, “don’t you have to call your friend soon?”

“And you your sister,” Jason said against Nico’s neck. “But just a little longer?”

Nico let out a breathy laugh and nosed Jason’s cheek. “Okay.”

They cuddled for “just a little longer” until Nico’s Facebook messenger went off and he was forced to crawl out from under the force of Jason’s affection. Jason let him go without a fight, because he knew how much Nico enjoyed talking with his sister, and he needed to be calling Reyna soon anyway. So, with what felt like a colossal amount of effort, Jason pulled himself off the couch and shuffled into his room. When he finally got his laptop open and settled up to his desk he noticed Reyna was already online.

“Hey, did I keep you waiting?” Jason asked once she picked up his call.

“Not at all,” Reyna said. “I’ve been paying some bills and applying for internships, so it’s not like I was wasting time.”

Jason chuckled. “You never waste time.”

Reyna sighed. “Tell me about it.”

Jason folded his arms on the desk. “What internships are you applying for?” he asked.

“Well, either paid internships or unpaid internships that I can keep livable work hours under, though with a business degree I’ll probably end up being a gopher either way.” Reyna rolled her eyes. “Also thinking about applying for an opening at the C.C. Resort headquarters.”

 “I thought you wanted to get away from that place,” Jason said.

Reyna shrugged. “I don’t want to _work_ there—that’s for sure,” she said. “Circe always told me I would make a better CEO than a beautician, though, and if I got in I think she would be more than willing to give me actual work to do. Besides, it’d be a good idea to observe a business as big as that recovering from bankruptcy.”

“That’s true I guess,” Jason said. “But if you think Circe would be so happy to have you why don’t you just call her and ask for the position?”

Reyna scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I still think I should get accepted on my own merit, Jason.”

Fondness swelled in Jason’s chest as he gave Reyna a small smile. “Of course. I should have known better.”

“That’s right you should have,” Reyna snipped. There was no bite in her bark, though. She was just messing with him, and Jason could tell in the way her lips twitched as she tried not to smirk.

“Anyways,” Reyna continued once she was done teasing, “enough stalling. How are things going with your dad?”

Jason sighed and shook his head. “Radio silence. In all honesty that freaks me out more than the phone calls did.”

“What the hell is he planning?” Reyna murmured.

“I have no idea,” Jason said, “but I’d rather he get it over with. I haven’t even heard from Juno yet.”

Reyna raised a brow. “Now that’s suspicious. Not even a preachy religious email?”

“Right?” Jason exclaimed. “Nothing. It makes me think he hasn’t _told_ her yet.”

“Maybe he hasn’t,” Reyna suggested. “Maybe he’s waiting to use it as part of your punishment.”

Jason groaned. “Don’t say that! I didn’t even consider that!”

“Sorry,” Reyna offered, hands up in defense. “Though, if Juno ends up being your only punishment I say you’re getting off pretty lucky.”

“Yeah,” Jason sighed. “You’re probably right.”

An angry Juno was much easier to deal with than an angry Jupiter. She would throw petty, passive-aggressive comments at you for a couple of weeks before finally ignoring your existence, and that was usually the extent of it. Now, if you really got on her bad side? Well, that was like a Machiavellian nightmare, but usually the shit-list was reserved exclusively for Jupiter’s mistresses. Jason didn’t think a minor disagreement would end in him being the target of one of Juno’s drawn out revenge schemes.

“So you’re left waiting until the other shoe drops,” Reyna said. “Are you at least prepared?”

“Leo’s been helping me with financial aid forms and Nico is helping me look for scholarships. He says I’ve got a lot of options with my merits, and it’s probably the best option for me, so we do at least two applications together a week. Did you know there are entire websites dedicated to applying for scholarships? Nico showed them to me. He says when I get back to the states I should start looking into student loans to cover the difference, and hopefully—what?”

Reyna was smirking. She hadn’t said anything, but she had this smug little look on her face that interrupted Jason’s flow of thought.

“What?” he repeated.

“No, sorry,” Reyna said. “Please tell me more about the financial advice your boyfriend is giving you.”

Jason felt his ears grow warm. “Okay wow. That was so unnecessary, Reyna.”

“Look at how red you are,” Reyna said. “Like an embarrassed clown nose or something.”

“Reyna, that’s not even a thing that exists,” Jason said, even as he desperately tried to cool himself down by airing out his shirt.

“Yeah whatever Bozo,” Reyna snorted. “I’m just glad the first guy you started dating is competent.”

Jason nodded. “He’s very competent. He was the one that helped me change my major.”

“Yes, you told me,” Reyna said with a small nod. “And you also told me how supportive and kind and sweet and funny and sarcastic he is, too.”

“I—” Jason felt himself flush all over again and he looked away from the monitor. “Whatever Reyna.”

Reyna let out a laugh that came out crisp through the laptop speakers. She didn’t laugh often—she chuckled or snorted more than anything—but when she did laugh Jason felt himself glow brighter on the inside. What exactly did that mean? Jason wasn’t sure, but it was a warm, fluttering sensation that lifted an emotional weight off of him in the worst of times. Even when she was laughing at _him_.

“You sound like you’ve really fallen for this guy,” Reyna said.

Jason nodded, his head bobbing unnecessarily fast. “Reyna you have no idea.”

“Oh?”

“Even with all of this shit happening in my life I find myself thinking about him all the time,” Jason admitted. “Like, even when we’re in the same room sometimes I just stare at him and get giddy. I even dream about him—I mean I’m completely obsessed.”

“Sounds like it,” Reyna said. “Do you think he feels the same?”

Nervousness churned against the walls of Jason’s stomach. “I know he has feelings for me. Are they as strong as mine? No idea, but I’m not sure if that’s an issue yet.”

“No, it wouldn’t be this early in your relationship,” Reyna said, “but I’d keep an eye on it. Sometimes you let your emotions run away with you.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Jason grumbled. His gaze drifted down to his lap and an overwhelming pressure began building in his chest. “What happens if... things don’t end up with us being in the same place? What then?”

“You mean what if you love him and he doesn’t love you back?” Reyna asked. Jason nodded timidly and Reyna sighed. “Well, if that’s the case you move on, but… you really think you could love him?”

“Not yet,” Jason said quickly. “In the future? Well, that’s not really a matter of _thinking_ …”

“Then say no more,” Reyna said. “I know you better than a lot of people do, Jason. Enjoy the fluff of the honeymoon stage, but don’t let yourself get too deep unless you know this guy is going to be right there with you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Jason gave a short nod. “I promise I’m not going to ruin myself in this relationship, Reyna.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jason.”

Jason fell silent. He had nothing to counter with, because in all likelihood Reyna was right. If he was in love with Nico would he be able to make the right decisions for his own well-being? Would he even want to?

“Alright, then I promise to be careful.”

“Okay, I can accept that,” Reyna said. There was silence for a moment before Reyna spoke up again. “If it means anything, I hope it all works out. I can see how happy he makes you.”

Jason smiled. “Thanks Reyna. It means a lot.”

There was a meaningful beat of silence between them before the conversation shifted to school. Reyna never pushed anything to the point of futility. If Jason was facing a problem she would make him talk it out until he agreed to take care of things, and then she would move on. Jason always appreciated that.

They stayed on Skype until Reyna had to hang up to get ready for work. Jason wished her well, and she of course told him to call her again if anything changed. When the room was finally quiet and Jason was once again alone he set his head on the desk and let out a long, nervous sigh.

While on the phone Jason had gradually felt his anxiety alleviate. Even if most of the conversation revolved around stressful topics, just having someone there to talk to made him feel a million times better. Now, with only his thoughts for company, Jason felt panic crawl into his chest like a slow-moving insect. The situation with his father, money worries back home, the possibility of falling too hard in love with Nico—he’d never had so many things to stress over before. Sometimes, when he laid in bed at night, his heart would begin to race as he reflected on all the things that could go wrong in life. Needless to say, he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a while.

There was a knock at the door and Jason called for Nico to come in. He sat up again, and when he saw Nico was carrying two cups of hot cocoa he couldn’t help but smile. The panic dissipated—if only a little bit—and he accepted his cocoa with a kiss.

“Come sit,” Jason said with a pat to his lap.

“I’m not spilling this on you,” Nico said. “I’ll sit on the bed and when I’m done I’ll sit in your lap.”

“Or I can sit in your lap,” Jason suggested.

Nico scoffed and sat on the edge of Jason’s mattress. “I like the feeling of blood circulating in my legs, so maybe not.”

“Fine, suit yourself,” Jason said with a shrug of indifference. Nico nudged at his leg with his foot, and Jason laughed before taking a long gulp of cocoa. “So how was the talk with Hazel?”

“Good, everything was good,” Nico said. “Her boyfriend is taking her to dinner and a movie this weekend and they get to go unsupervised, so she’s pretty excited.”

“Wow, that’s really cool of your Dad.”

Nico shook his head. “I talked to him earlier this week—Persephone has to drive them to the movie and then to dinner, and the restaurant they’re going to is owned by a friend of his.”

“Ah, so spies everywhere,” Jason said.

“Basically.”

Jason chuckled and turned his attention back to his drink. He’d never spoken to Nico’s father, but from the stories Nico had told about him (both good and bad) he seemed like a decent guy. There was no way Jason could ever dislike a man that had at one point been a crappy father, only to put all of his effort into making up for his past actions through kindness and understanding. Besides, Nico loved the guy, even if he showed it in funny ways.

“Well I’m glad your sister is doing well,” Jason said after finishing off his cocoa. “Did you say hi to her for me?”

“I did,” Nico said. “She wants to meet you.”

Jason set his cup on the desk and furrowed his brows. “Like in person?”

“No, just Skype,” Nico clarified. “She says if you’re going to be my boyfriend she needs to approve of your first.”

A giddy sort of half-smile wormed its way onto Jason’s face. “Is that what we are now? Boyfriends?”

Nico set his cup on the nightstand and threw a smirk in Jason’s direction. “You tell me, Grace.”

Jason got out of his chair and made his way over to Nico. Big, brown eyes looked up at him and Jason felt himself tremble with excitement. He slowly bent forward until he had Nico flat on the bed, and with a bit of maneuvering he managed to hover above the smaller man without much difficulty.

“I think,” Jason began with a small kiss to Nico’s cheek, “that I would very, _very_ much like to be your boyfriend.”

“After only two months of dating?” Nico teased.

Jason pressed his lips against Nico’s neck and smiled. “Since Thanksgiving, actually.”

Nico tensed, and Jason started to pull away—afraid he’d said the wrong thing. Before he could get very far Nico pulled him back down for a hard, awkward, delightful kiss. When they broke for air Jason’s lips felt dry and Nico’s face was bright red.

“I wasn’t expecting you to say that,” Nico admitted. He then looked away, fidgeted, and after a moment pushed Jason to stand. “Come on, if we’re doing this on the bed then I don’t want my legs dangling off the side.”

Jason felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “Doing—I… what?”

“Calm yourself, Jason,” Nico said as he repositioned himself. “I meant making out.”

“Oh,” Jason said, sounding slightly disappointed even to his own ears. “Right, of course.”

When Nico was laying properly against his pillows Jason climbed on top of him. He tried to be considerate about the weight of his body, but when he started getting comfortable Nico jumped.

“Wow you’re hard,” he commented.

Jason flushed and reached down to readjust his dick. “Sorry, I got kind of excited when you said boyfriend.”

“You’ve been this hard for that long?” Nico asked. “That’s impressive.”

Jason yelped when Nico then reached down and experimentally grabbed his erection. Immediately Jason pulled Nico’s hand away and shook his head.

“If you do shit like that I’m going to end up cumming in my jeans,” Jason said, his entire upper body probably red. “That would be really embarrassing, so please don’t touch my dick.”

“And if I have intentions to carry through with touching your dick?” Nico asked.

Jason felt his mouth go dry and let go of Nico’s hand. “Then please touch my dick.”

Nico chuckled and slowly leaned over until their positions were swapped. Now, with the full weight of Nico resting on top of him—with his erection pressed all too enticingly against Nico’s thigh and Nico’s own partial erection pressing into his stomach—Jason’s mind went blank. He’d never been this turned on before, and it actually fucking hurt to be so hard and still be wearing jeans.

“That’s a good thing to know for the future,” Nico said. He took Jason’s hands and moved them to rest on his ass. “For now, your touching privileges have been extended.”

Jason’s dick twitched, and Nico laughed. “Wow, it even does tricks.”

That would’ve been the perfect moment for a witty retort, but Jason chose to lean forward and stick his tongue in Nico’s mouth instead. Nico responded by sliding up Jason’s body—causing a pleasurable sensation of friction as he went—to deepen the kiss. The feeling of Nico tilting his head to better angle his mouth distracted Jason for long enough to forget that he had two handfuls of boyfriend butt. It wasn’t until he unconsciously thrust against Nico’s leg and pushed said butt against his palms that Jason realized what an opportunity he was missing out on.

Almost immediately Jason began kneading Nico’s ass in an odd mixture of respectful tentativeness and aroused boldness. Nico’s response was to kiss him harder, and Jason quite liked that. As they continued Jason tried to figure out just how Nico liked it—watching for certain reactions or involuntary noises that might escape—and he finally got what he was looking for when he cupped right under the cheeks and squeezed, grinding Nico against him. Nico moaned into his mouth and thrust down, resulting in Jason getting embarrassingly close to orgasm.

“There?” Jason asked, pulling away for a moment to repeat the previous action.

“Fuck!” Nico breathed. “You piece of shit.”

Jason laughed and slowly rocked his pelvis against Nico’s. “Who knew you liked dirty talk in bed?”

Nico groaned and tweaked one of Jason’s nipples, causing Jason to shudder. “Shut up, Jason. I—give me a moment.”

Jason pulled his hands back and let Nico climb off of him. They were both flushed and dehydrated and painfully aroused, but Nico looked especially strung out. Jason sat up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Want me to get you some water?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Nico assured.

Jason nodded. “Then I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later Jason came back into the room feeling satisfied and exhausted. He saw Nico lying on the bed with an arm slung over his eyes, so Jason took a moment to run and grab a bottle of water from the fridge before settling down next to his boyfriend.

“You should drink,” Jason said, poking Nico in the side with the bottle.

“I had a glass while you were jacking off in the bathroom,” Nico said. He accepted the bottle anyway and sat up to down half of it before handing it back to Jason. “Feel better?”

“Much better,” Jason said. He took a few gulps of water before setting the empty bottle on the nightstand. “How about you?”

“A little tired, but otherwise satisfied.” Nico moved onto his side facing Jason and plucked at his shirt. “Thanks for stopping.”

Jason wrapped an arm around Nico and furrowed his brows. “I don’t think you should have to thank me for that.”

“I shouldn’t,” Nico said, “but I will anyways. I’ve had to forcefully push an ex off of me too many times to take your respect for granted.”

“You know,” Jason said, shaking a bit as he pulled Nico closer, “that makes me _so_ mad. I just… how? Is it that hard to control yourself?”

“Many men say yes,” Nico drawled. He then leaned up and gave Jason a slow, meaningful kiss. “And that’s why you’re my boyfriend and not them.”

Jason flushed. “That’s right,” he said. “I’m your boyfriend. And you’re _my_ boyfriend.”

“That I am,” Nico said with a small nod. It was quiet for a moment—with the sound being the shuffle of fabric from where Jason’s feet were playing with the blankets—and then Nico yawned. “I’m tired. I should sleep.”

Jason smiled and ran his fingers through Nico’s hair. “Sleep with me. It’ll be nice.”

“That does sound nice,” Nico hummed. “I’d have to brush my teeth first, though.”

“Well I need to get out of my jeans, so how about this?” Jason climbed out of bed and slowly coaxed Nico to stand. He cupped Nico’s cheek, smiled, kissed him, and then pulled away before he got too far ahead of himself. “We do our bedtime routine, and then instead of going off to different rooms we rendezvous back here and cuddle until we fall asleep.”

Nico yawned again. “Okay, sounds good.”

It took about five minutes for Jason to get his teeth brushed and face washed before returning to his room to change. As a result he was done much faster than Nico, who always preferred to shower at night. That gave Jason ample time to settle in bed and let the dark thoughts creep into his mind as he stared at the ceiling.

What was he going to do if his father tried to ruin his life? Jupiter had enough influence to do it if he really wanted to, and from how angry he seemed the other night Jason wouldn’t put it past him. It didn’t help that Jupiter had had so many plans to make Jason work at his company after he graduated. All of his plans—all of the plans Jason _despised_ —were falling apart, and when shit hit the fan Jupiter could turn into a wounded animal.

And if his father _did_ ruin him, what would happen then? Would he be able to get a steady job? Would he be able to afford a home? Would Nico still stay with him then? Hell, was Nico even willing to continue dating once they got back to the states? What if Nico decided they were no good for one another before study abroad ended? Where would Jason be then?

The never ending stream of questions was cut short when Jason suddenly felt the bed dip. His head snapped to the side and he saw Nico sitting at the edge of mattress drying his hair with a towel. Jason let out a long breath. He hadn’t realized he’d allowed himself to get so worked up.

“Have a good shower?” Jason asked.

“Same as usual,” Nico said. He neatly folded the towel over the back of Jason’s desk chair before climbing under the covers. Jason pulled him close and pressed a kiss to the damp crown of his head. “You okay?”

“Me? Yeah, why?”

“Your heart is racing,” Nico said.

Jason realized it was probably very easy to hear his heartbeat when they were so close. He didn’t want to tell Nico about the bad thoughts, though. Realistically, Jason knew he was conflating things in his head, and there was no need to rope Nico into that. Besides, just having his boyfriend so close was enough to calm his nerves.

“I’ll be okay,” Jason said. “Was just half asleep when you sat down, so you gave me a bit of a fright.”

Jason couldn’t see Nico’s face, but the silence he let slip between them was enough of an indicator that he didn’t completely believe Jason’s lie. Lucky for Jason, he was willing to let it go.

“Alright then. Sleep well, Jason.”

“You too, Nico. Goodnight.”

 

Jason wasn’t necessarily afraid of water. He’d been a strong swimmer since Juno had forced lessons on him as a child, and whenever he went to the beach he spent at least half of his time body-surfing the waves. What did freak Jason out, however, was the all-consuming darkness of deep water.

“ _You’re such a pathetic waste of sperm._ ”

There was a movie Jason saw when he was a child that always stuck with him. A man had gone on a fishing trip, and due to a horrible storm he ended up stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a life jacket to keep him above the surface. The movie was very good at never revealing what was happening under the water, and as a result the actor’s responses to every unseen touch would make Jason jump with fear.

“ _You think you can make it alone? You think after I’ve given you everything on a silver platter you have what it takes to live without me?_ ”

Now Jason hated deep water. Every time he had to fly over an ocean he’d make sure to take an aisle seat, and any movie about people stranded at sea made him nervous. Hell, he wasn’t even able to sit through _Life of Pi_ without leaving the theater to collect himself.

“ _I’m going to fucking destroy you, boy. When I’m done, you’ll be begging for my forgiveness_.”

So imagine how disorienting it was for Jason to find himself stranded in the middle of the ocean surrounded by miles and miles of dark, blue water. Every so often the voice of his father would boom overhead and dark gray clouds would collect until shade covered the ocean. For now there were _only_ clouds, but even the threat of a storm was enough to send Jason into a panic.

“ _What is wrong with you? How can you be so fucking **weak**? You can’t be my brother._ ”

This time, instead of Jupiter, Jason heard Thalia scorning him from above. That shook him to his core. He tried shout out to her, but a heavy wind suddenly picked up and drowned out his words. Jason grit his teeth and tried to ignore the pain of what Thalia said. Instead of crying he started swimming.

“ _Really? You’re freaking out over debt? Jesus, you really did grow up privileged, didn’t you?_ ”

Jason shook his head as Reyna’s voice suddenly summoned a torrent of rain. He’d only heard her that angry once—back during sophomore year of high school. Jason was still afraid of the cutting, burning sharpness of her tone and the guilt it grew in the pit of his stomach. He was hoping he’d never have to hear it again.

“ _Honestly man, so many people have it worse than you. Why can’t you just fucking pull it together?_ ”

The current started pushing against Jason as Leo’s voice filled the sky. The disgust and disappointment in his tone took Jason off-guard. Honestly, he hadn’t been expecting such genuine revulsion from Leo. He thought he’d be mocked. This was worse.

“ _Your problem is you’re never happy with anything. Your major, your girlfriend, your life—you had everything and you still weren’t happy. You’ll **never** be happy_.”

Jason cursed as bright streaks of lightning cut through the clouds. The threat of electrocution made it hard to focus too hard on Piper’s accusations, but Jason knew they scared him. He’d been worried for a while about whether his lack of satisfaction was his fault. Was he really one of those guys that could never be happy with what he had? Would he be looking for something else his entire life?

“ _I don’t think I can do this_.”

“No,” Jason cried, body finally slowing down as waves began fighting against him. “Nico no. Not you.”

“ _You take so much and you never give anything in return. I can’t be with someone who cares so little for me._ ”

“Please Nico,” Jason begged to the angry skies. “Please don’t leave me.”

The waves grew taller as Jason tried to hold back tears. If he lost it now there was no chance of him surviving, and he knew if he could just overcome the storm things would be alright. The ocean wasn’t making things easy for him, though. With each new wave he’d be forced under, swallowing large amounts of salt water in his shock before he was able to swim to the surface again. His limbs were growing heavy from fatigue, and with his will power already torn to shreds Jason wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

“ _See boy? I told you. You’re **nothing** without me._ ”

Exhaustion finally won out. Jason stopped fighting and let himself be pulled down into the darkness. As he sank his lungs burned and his heart constricted as he thought of all the people he’d let down. How could he have ever expected to be happy on his own? How could he possibly think that he was capable of surviving without all the things that made him worthwhile? Direction. Order. Jason was nothing without it.

“Jason!”

The world seemed to tremble and Jason felt panic rise inside of him. He opened his eyes but saw nothing but the never ending darkness. Not even the light of the surface was visible anymore.

“Jason!”

God, though! Did he want to die here? Was the abyss really where he wanted to spend his final moments of life?

“Jason, wake up!”

No. He was better than this. He deserved more than the cold ocean and unending fear.

“Wake up!”

Jason gasped. He looked down at his arms and legs and saw the blankets tangled around them, so he threw the covers off and stumbled out of bed. He was vaguely aware that he was panting way too hard—hard enough to make him hyperventilate if he wasn’t careful—but all he was worried about was getting air into his lung.

“[Jason](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig)?”

Jason’s eyes snapped back over to the bed. He hadn’t realized Nico was next to him when he woke up. All he’d been worried about were those blankets constrict him—pulling him tighter until he couldn’t breathe.

“Jason, are you okay?”

Nico was now walking over to him. He looked worried. Jason wanted to comfort him, but when Nico gently grabbed him by the shoulders he realized _he_ was the one being comforted. No. Shit. Not again.

“Hey, I need you to look at me. Don’t look at my hands. Look at me.”

Jason obediently made eye-contact with Nico. He felt Nico’s hands move from his shoulders to his face, and then he stood there and gasped for air until reality slowly came back into focus. Slowly his breathing went back to normal, and Jason squeezed his eyes shut as his panic was replaced by embarrassment.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You had a night terror,” Nico said slowly. “I woke up to you thrashing in bed shouting ‘no’ over and over.”

Jason sighed and opened his eyes to look at Nico again. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Scared me a little, but I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. He sounded desperate. “Nico, I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, you don’t have to be sorry,” Nico cooed. He pulled Jason close and Jason almost collapsed against him. “This stuff happens. It’ll be okay.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Jason said again. He wrapped his arms around Nico and pulled him suffocatingly close. “I should be giving you more support. All you ever do is help me, and I can’t even—”

Nico shushed Jason again. “Don’t start saying things like that. I know for a fact that if I needed your help you’d be there for me one hundred percent. Don’t make yourself feel guilty for going through a rough time.”

“But Nico—”

“No buts,” Nico said. He led Jason back over to the bed and sat down with him so they could talk face-to-face. “Whatever your subconscious told you isn’t true, okay? I’m so happy to be your boyfriend, and I don’t care that you need my help right now. I’d rather be there for a guy I’m crazy about than be with some douchebag who thinks depression is cured by exercise and the sun.”

Jason chuckled half-heartedly, but then his chuckle turned into a sob and he began crying on Nico’s shoulder. Nico just rubbed his back and whispered soothing words as the fear of Jason’s nightmare washed over him. It wasn’t the drowning that had been so terrifying. It was the thought that everyone secretly hated him and hated how weak he was. Even Nico. Especially Nico.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Nico asked once Jason’s sobs had quieted to nothing.

Jason sniffled and shook his head. “Maybe in the morning, but I can’t now. I—”

Jason’s voice caught, and Nico quickly nodded reassuringly to let him know that was fine. Jason watched Nico grab a box of tissues from the nightstand, and when offered he pulled a few out and blew his nose.

Nico chuckled. “See, I told you.”

Jason balled up his used tissues and threw them into the trash can by his desk. “Told me what?”

Nico scooted close to Jason and kissed one of his red, puffy cheeks. “I told you I’d see you cry twice.”

On that night in late February Jason realized the world as he knew it was over. He was utterly in love with Nico di Angelo, and life would never be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops this chapter took forever, but hey I got it out right before my birthday, so yay!
> 
> Here we are finally at unlucky thirteen! We got the good, the bad, and the ugly going down here. I'm not quite sure what to say besides never having Nico cry in front of you, or he will totally remember and make you cry to get even. And what will happen now that Jason had realized he's in love? Well, it won't be easy, because real love is hard and frustrating and wow being in your twenties is never fun.
> 
> As always special thanks to my betas [Phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) and [Ink](http://shiningdraw.tumblr.com/) for their support, dedication, and eagle eyes. Without these two you would all be getting a much messier product. Please check out their fics/art and send them some love!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, and since my birthday is on the 10th it would be super awesome if you all could share this fic and get your friends to comment too! No pressure at all, but it would make my day! Either way, thank you all for sticking to it! You're wonderful! -blows kisses-


	14. The Sun Has Come Out, It's Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Unzip your pants.”
> 
> “Wait, what?” Jason asked, mind hazy and eager to return to kissing.
> 
> “Unzip your pants,” Nico breathed. “I want to touch you.”
> 
> For a split second Jason’s soul transcended his earthly body and floated directly to Heaven.

“I have to say this was a pretty dismal round of papers, but I’ve curved accordingly so none of you should be too worried. If you have issues with your grade you can speak to me in office hours. Otherwise please come to the front and collect your essays.”

Jason sighed and closed his textbook. He’d been worried about this essay ever since he got the prompt, and part of him almost didn’t want to know what his grade was. It didn’t help that he had been neck deep in panic when he’d started writing. All he remembered of what he wrote was the haze of pushing his way to the ten page limit before saving, printing, and praying for something coherent. Hopefully it was enough for him to pass.

As Jason reached the front of the lecture hall he reluctantly pushed past several other students in an attempt to locate his paper. Red marks were abundant in the pile. He saw his name peeking out from under a stack of heavily annotated papers and he quickly snatched it up.

“Please just let me pass,” Jason whispered as he moved out of the crowd to let others face their fate. “All I want is a C.”

As he thumbed through the pages of comments written in the margins and between the lines Jason found himself getting more and more nervous. He’d never seen ‘yes but what’s the point?’ written so many times in his life. The conclusion sentence of one of his paragraphs was circled six times over and surrounded by about eight question marks and that was it. When it came to the last page Jason felt weak.

“Okay, it’ll be fine,” he said. Jason turned the page, skimmed over the final notes to the bottom, and then promptly yelped in surprise.

“I should mention before you all panic,” the professor said over the murmurs of the crowd, “that this is your uncurved grade.”

Jason looked over at Professor Erikson with wide eyes. The professor smiled and offered a small nod. B+. Jason got a B+. He got an _uncurved_ B+.

With a sudden bounce in his step Jason stuffed his essay in his backpack and practically skipped out of the lecture hall. It was a little surreal to think he’d done so well on an essay he’d been so worried about, especially since he was still so new to the major. There were so many things Jason was unsure about—common terms, famous authors, well-known books—but obviously this meant he was taking some unsteady steps in the right direction.

“Jason! Is that you?”

Jason paused at the building exit and turned to see Professor Smith standing by one of the windows. He smiled and made his way over to the jolly old man, more than happy to take some time out of his day for his favorite teacher.

“Hey Professor! What are you doing here?”

Professor Smith laughed his full-belly laugh and gestured to the building. “This is where the sociology classes are taught, no?”

Jason flushed. “Oh, I guess you’re right.”

“Don’t worry Mr. Grace,” Professor Smith assured with a chuckle. “I’m only teasing. Professor Erikson and I are off to lunch and I was just waiting for his class to get out. If I’m not mistaken you’re a student of his this semester, correct?”

“Ah, yeah that was the class I just got out of,” Jason said with a nod. “We got our first essays back so he might not be out for a while.”

“Oh?” Professor Smith said, bushy white eyebrows going up. “Well then? What did you get?”

Jason smiled and fished his paper out of his backpack like a small child showing off his latest crayon drawing. He handed it to Professor Smith who read over it with the same sort of diligence he would probably use if he was grading it, and after a moment or two he smiled and handed the essay back to Jason.

“Kasper really is a tough son of gun, isn’t he?” Professor Smith asked.

It took Jason a second to realize he was talking about Professor Erikson. “Oh! Well, I think he’s pretty fair.” Jason didn’t want to risk saying something too inflammatory. “At least compared to my old economics professors back home.”

Professor Smith chucked. “That does sound like a major that would invite professors just looking to fail people.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jason said with a smile. “It’s part of the reason why I’m not in the major anymore.”

“And a good thing at that, too,” Professor Smith said. “I believe you’re much better suited to the matters of human beings than you are to the matters of money.”

“Greg, are you harassing my students again?”

Jason turned to see Professor Erikson walking toward them. He was stuffing a small stack of papers into his briefcase, but his stride was still as quick and pragmatic as it always was. It was odd to think that the business-like Professor Erikson was such good friends with someone as easy-going as Professor Smith, yet when Professor Erikson stopped in front of them Professor Smith warmly clapped him on the shoulder and laughed.

“Harassing? My friend, he wouldn’t be your student if I hadn’t begun to tease the sociologist out of him last semester.”

Professor Erikson raised a brow at Jason. “Truly? Have you just joined the major, Mr. Grace?”

“Yes sir,” Jason said with a respectful bob of his head. “Professor Smith encouraged me to switch from Econ to Sociology back in November.”

Professor Erikson scoffed and shook his head. “Damn you, George. And here I was hoping my wallet would be safe for a while.”

Jason furrowed his brows. “I’m sorry?”

“Just a long-running bet we have, Mr. Grace,” Professor Smith disclosed. “Whenever one of us converts a student with great potential into the major the other has to buy lunch.”

“Though I can certainly contest the merits of any student,” Professor Erikson added.

Professor Smith huffed. “Surely you’re not suggesting Mr. Grace is lacking in merit, Kasper? I take great offense to that.”

“Not at all,” Professor Erikson said with a shake of his head. He smiled at Jason, then smirked as he looked back at Professor Smith. “But I certainly think Mr. Grace here has raised the bar, don’t you think?”

“For someone so new, certainly,” Professor Smith said. “My boy, you really do show the stuff it takes to become great in this field.”

There was probably enough blood rushing to Jason’s head to make him pass out. He wasn’t used to being so flattered—especially by adults he respected—and he wasn’t sure what to do besides stumble out a quick thank-you.

“The praise is well deserved, Mr. Grace,” Professor Erikson said. “No need to be humble.”

“But enough chit-chat!” Professor Smith boomed. “Kasper, I think you owe me some lunch, hm?”

The two professors bade their farewells, and Jason waved in mute delight as they disappeared down the hall. For a moment or two he just stood there in a giddy haze as he thought over all the nice things his professors had said to him. Then, when Jason realized that he was supposed to be meeting friends for lunch, he gathered his wits and all but sprinted out of the building on feather-light feet.

This was the validation he needed. Someone to tell him that he made not only the best decision for himself, but a smart decision at that. As much as Jason loved sociology, he wasn’t sure if he’d have felt as secure in changing majors if he wasn’t any good at it. At least now he knew there were two people that saw real potential in him.

Thanks to Jason’s enthusiastic mood he was able to make it to the diner on the other side of campus in record time. Of course, Michael and Nyssa were already waiting for him with their drinks and a plate of fries. Jason didn’t mind. He was in too good of a mood to mind.

“Hey guys!” Jason called. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Hey, no worries! Sorry we started without you,” Nyssa said, her eyes sliding over to Michel. “The hungry hippo insisted we order something, because he can’t stand waiting like a polite human being.”

“Three hour lecture, Nyssa!” Michael said around a mouthful of fries. “Three hours, and she glares at you if you try to eat _anything_.”

Nyssa rolled her eyes and patted the spot next to her. “Don’t listen to him. He’s weak.”

Jason laughed and slid into the booth. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. I’m just glad you guys aren’t putting me on ‘Honeymoon Phase Ban’ like the Stolls.”

Michael scoffed and took a big gulp of his drink. “You and Nico aren’t that bad. You should’ve seen my brother in high school.”

“Yeah, you’re better than most,” Nyssa agreed. “Though I am surprised he’s not joining us.”

“He’s in class,” Jason said as he took a couple fries. “But that’s okay. He’ll be at group dinner on Friday.”

“That’s good,” Nyssa said. A look crossed her face that made Jason feel nervous, and then she added, “I’m actually glad you two are happy. For a while there you seemed kind of down, and I was worried things weren’t going well.”

“Yeah, you were kind of a wet blanket,” Michael said. Nyssa punched him in the arm. “Ow what? It’s true! Everyone noticed.”

Jason chuckled. “It’s okay, Nyssa. I get it.” He scratch the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “I was going through some stuff for a while, but I’ve mostly sorted through it. I’m just sorry I made you guys worry.”

Nyssa nodded. “Well, I’m glad that the worst is behind you, but you know you don’t need to apologize? Everyone has had their rough spots during the program. We understand.”

Jason felt himself flush. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

“If you ever need to talk, though,” Michael said, “we’re here. I mean I know you’ve got Nico, but if there’s anything you can’t talk to him about, just hit us up.”

Jason had to look away to swallow the lump in his throat. For so long he’d struggled to gain his father’s approval with disappointment as his only reward. Years of following the plan, sacrificing his social life, and working his ass off all done to satisfy a man who was impossible to please. It took a spontaneous, selfish decision for Jason to realize he didn’t need his father to feel whole. The things that made Jason happiest—his boyfriend, his friends, his accomplishments—were all found in direct conflict with his father’s wishes. Maybe he no longer had Jupiter’s financial support, but going forward, Jason was sure he’d never felt so secure.

 

 

“But, you see, I’ve thought about it, and the only real solution is to kill him.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Leo, I don’t think killing your roommate is going to solve anything. In fact, it’ll probably just lead to more problems.”

“Okay, first of all,” Leo said, holding a finger up to the webcam, “he’s not a roommate. He’s a pile of Satan’s rotting shit that managed to crawl its way to the mortal realm and take human form.”

“Seriously, Leo?”

“Secondly!” Leo continued, voice loud with enthusiasm. “If I actually managed to kill Octavian I think the police would name me a hero instead of sending me to jail. He’s just that objectively evil.”

“What did he even do this time?” Jason asked. “We usually get a decent conversation in before you launch into an Octavian hate speech.”

“Wow, Jason, that’s so rude. I cannot even comprehend how rude and inconsiderate that is.” Leo huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Were you always this crabby?”

“I’m going to start listing every cute thing Nico did this week if you don’t hurry up and talk,” Jason said, expression flat and unamused.

Leo threw up his hands. “Ugh fine! You know, you were easier to deal with when you were dating Piper.”

“So yesterday, Nico got up and made me coffee with—”

“I’m going! Give a guy a minute!”

Jason waited as Leo prepared himself. Two deep breaths and moment with his eyes closed, and Jason would almost call him calm.

“Okay, so you know how Calypso and I are sort of not really dating?” Jason nodded. “So this past weekend she comes up to the city for a visit and we go out for dinner. I invite her back to my place—only because she said she was cold and I offered to grab her a jacket!—and Octavian is usually out on Saturday nights so I don’t think much of it. So I’m showing Calypso some of my new inventions when Octavian walks in, and before I can even say hi the asshole fucking _loses it_.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I have a guest in the room!” Leo shouted. “He basically started screaming at me and Calypso, being rude and saying her dirty shoes had messed up his carpet or whatever, and like the good date I am I defend her. But that just makes him _angrier_ , and he storms off and tell the RA that he caught us having sex!”

“Dude what the fuck?”

“I know, right?” Leo cried and pulled at his hair. “So then the RA comes in and starts lecturing me, and poor Calypso is so fucking embarrassed at this point, so I just take her out of the dorm and we go to Piper’s place where that fucking lunatic can’t follow us.”

“I heard my name!” Jason heard Piper call from somewhere off screen. “Is Leo waxing poetic about Octavian again, or is he calling me a fucking lunatic?”

“Hey Piper!” Jason said as Piper walked into the frame. “He was just telling me about his date.”

“Ooh yeah, the one that Octavian ruined,” Piper whistled. “That guy is the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.”

“See?” Leo shouted. “Piper thinks so, too!”

“Thought to be fair, once you guys got here Calypso felt comfortable enough to stay the night,” Piper said. “So the night wasn’t a total loss.”

“Yeah, that was fun,” Leo admitted. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that Octavian fucking mortified her. Messing with me? Fine. But you don’t mess with my friends.”

“Aw, Jason listen to that,” Piper sighed. “She’s gone from an object of affection to a friend. Isn’t that cute?”

“A+ character development, Leo. Good job,” Jason teased.

Leo rolled his eyes. “You two are such jerks. Why am I even friends with you?”

“Because no one else will walk down to the pier with you at five in the morning to help you launch a new rocket,” Piper said. She then took a container of Chinese food out of a plastic bag and handed it to Leo. “No one else is willing to feed you, either.”

“Those are both very valid reasons for our friendship,” Leo said as he opened his container. He then pointed his chopsticks at the webcam. “What about you, Jason? What are you bringing to the table?”

Jason was momentarily distracted from answering when his Skype pinged. It was Reyna, and he took a moment to move to her chat box, curious as to why she hadn’t just called like she usually did.

**Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano  
** _I’m in a hurry, but when is your spring break?_

Jason furrowed his brows and opened Chrome to check the school calendar.

“Hello?” Leo called, dragging out the ‘o’ for emphasis. “I’m trying to question the validity of our friendship over here.”

“Sorry, Reyna messaged me,” Jason said as he scrolled through the dates.

Leo scoffed. “So she’s more important to you than us?”

“I plead the fifth,” Jason said as he typed out his response.

**Jason Grace  
** _starts the 6 th this year why what’s up?_

“Wow, Piper did you hear that? Jason loves Reyna more than us!”

“Oh, you’re talking to Reyna?” Piper asked as she sat down next to Leo, a neat plate of food in hand. “Tell her I said hi.”

“She’s messaging,” Jason said, “but I’ll tell her.”

**Jason Grace  
** _piper says hi btw_

“Tell her I said ‘What’s up my sexy Latina butterfly’.”

**Jason Grace  
** _leo says hi too_

**Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano  
** _I doubt that’s all Leo said, but tell them hello for me._

“Reyna says hi, guys.”

**Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano**  
_I found out I got the internship I wanted. Good pay and everything.  
_ _My break is the same week as yours, so would you mind if I came to visit?_

“Leo, there’s an entire container of broccoli and beef on the counter. Stop stealing from my plate!”

**Jason Grace**  
_holy shit yeah! of course you can come!  
_ _I have to tell nico but I’m sure he won’t mind_

“Do you have beer, Piper?”

“Bottom drawer!”

“Piper, for the love of god, hard cider isn’t beer!”

**Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano**  
_Okay good. I have to get to class, but I’ll call later this week to plan._  
_Talk to you soon, Jason.  
_ _Tell Piper and Leo I say take care._

**Jason Grace  
** _bye reyna! talk to you soon!_

“Reyna’s coming to visit!”

“No way?” Piper said, cheek stuffed with rice. “Oh man I’m so jealous. I want to visit.”

“You could have visited during Thanksgiving,” Leo said.

Piper frowned. “You know for a fact I couldn’t. Dad and I always got to Grandpa’s cabin for Thanksgiving.”

“Maybe you and Leo can visit before the semester ends?” Jason suggested.

“If there’s time I’ll ask my Dad,” Piper said with a nod.

“Well, I can’t afford to go,” Leo said, “but then again it’s probably my turn to fly solo anyways.” He then snickered and wiggled his brows at Jason. “Not that Jason here is alone, huh buddy?”

As if on cue the front door to the apartment opened and Nico walked in carrying several bags of groceries. He walked over to Jason, kissed him on the cheek, and then dropped a six-pack of chapstick on his keyboard.

“Hi, welcome home. What’s this?” Jason asked, holding up the pack of Super Hydrating Nivea Lip Balm.

“My lip split today in class and started bleeding,” Nico said as he made his way to the kitchen. “And it’s all your fault.”

Jason smirked and leaned over the back of his chair. “It takes two to enthusiastically make out until your lips are chapped, Nico.”

“I told you to get us water,” Nico said from the kitchen. “And instead you just keep sucking face.”

“Aww, but you were so cute with your red cheeks! I couldn’t help it.”

“Ew! Stop! Shut up I don’t want to hear it!” Leo shouted, hands over his ears.

Piper, meanwhile, was laughing her ass off. “Oh my god, you’re such a cheeseball, Jason.”

Jason smiled. “We dated for two years and you’re just figuring this out?”

“Hey, back then you were at least a little cool,” Piper said. “Now you’re just a full on dork.”

“Amen to that!”

Piper and Leo high fived, and Jason just shook his head fondly. He was more than happy to be the butt of the joke, because at least they were making fun of him for being gobsmacked in love with his own boyfriend.

“Nico’s making dinner, so I’m going to go help him,” Jason said once the laughs died down.

“Try not to burn the kitchen down when you two start boning on the stove,” Leo warned, and he and Piper descended into a fresh round of giggles.

Jason just laughed and wished the two well, promising to call them again soon, and once his laptop was put away he strode into the kitchen to find Nico chopping carrots. Jason walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist. Nico tensed for a moment, but then he relaxed against Jason’s chest and continued dicing.

“What are you making tonight?” Jason asked, nose nuzzling against Nico’s ear.

“Fried rice,” Nico said, knife briefly pointing to the other diced vegetables on the cutting board. He then tilted his head back to look at Jason. “It’s pork, is that okay?”

Jason smiled and kissed Nico. “Pork fried rice sounds fantastic. How can I help?”

The next few minutes felt bone-achingly domestic as Jason helped Nico prep and cook their dinner. They talked about their day, threw sarcastic comments at one another, and periodically kissed while stepping around each other in a way that long time lovers might. Lately, though, this sense of intimate coexistence made up the bulk of their time together. Jason loved to shower Nico with affection, and Nico was starting to not only accept it, but return it as well.  The fact that they were growing into their relationship mutually filled Jason with such happiness and validation that sometimes he didn’t know how to contain himself.

“I’ll set the table,” Jason said, pressing a kiss to Nico’s cheek. Nico nodded and continued mixing the rice. Within ten minutes they were seated, sharing homemade fried rice and sparkling water, while discussing what movie they wanted to watch later that night. If Thalia were there she’d probably declare them ‘totally married’.

“So then apparently this guy gets the RA and says he caught Leo and Calypso having sex,” Jason said, scooping some rice onto his fork.

Nico shook his head while taking a sip of water. “That’s disgusting. I can understand being bothered by having your roommate bring company in without telling you first, but don’t fly off the handle like that.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Jason then sighed dramatically and rested his chin in his palm. “It seems like Leo and I both got stuck with unbearable roommates.”

Nico kicked Jason under the table. “You continue with that and I’m going to leave you unbearably aroused next time we fool around.”

“You always do anyway!” Jason said.

“Yes, but this time I’ll tie you up.”

Jason’s brows shot up and his cheeks flushed. “That’s kind of hot.”

Nico’s face turned bright red. “Not what I meant!”

Jason laughed, which eventually led Nico to laugh, and the two laughed together until Jason felt his eyes well with tears. They slowly came down together—boisterous bursts of amusement turning into slow giggles—and when control was finally back Jason still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

“That’s was weird,” Nico said, shaking his head even as Jason watched him suppress a chuckle.

“What, you’ve never had a laughing fit before?” Jason asked.

“Not since I was a child,” Nico said. “I always thought you grew out of those.”

“Well, I’m happy to inform you that you certainly don’t,” Jason said. “You just start laughing at more and more ridiculous things.”

“I think you make up the majority of the ridiculous things I find myself laughing at,” Nico quipped.

Jason pouted. “You’re laughing at me, are you?”

“Sometimes yes,” Nico said. He then leaned across the table and gave Jason a quick kiss. “But more often than not I’m laughing with you.”

An embarrassing string of noises escaped Jason’s mouth as he blushed and looked away. He still wasn’t completely used to Nico being flirty and sweet, and sometimes it caught him so off-guard that he ended up saying things (or in most cases, vocalizing a garbled mess) that left him looking like a bit of a fool. If anyone asked, though, he was Nico’s fool.

“So then, has Leo gotten revenge on his roommate?” Nico asked, mercifully taking pity on Jason with a change in topic.

“No, not yet,” Jason said. “Though he is considering killing him.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Nico said with a small shrug. “Let’s hope no one misses him.”

Jason chuckled, and for the next minute or two they ate in silence. It was only while Nico was pushing the peas in the rice off to the side of his plate that he thought of Reyna. Reyna hated peas, too. In Jason’s mind, that obviously meant they would get along great.

“[By the way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8B4XDI3Uw), do you remember me talking about my friend Reyna?”

Nico looked up from his pea pyramid. “The one you knew in high school? Yes, why?”

“Well, it looks like she might be able to come visit us during spring break,” Jason said. “I was wondering if that was alright with you.”

Nico nodded. “Of course. I’m not going to turn away your friends, Jason.”

Jason sighed. “Okay, just wanted to make sure it was alright with you first. Well, I mean I already told her it was alright to come, but… y’know.”

“I understand,” Nico said with a smile. “And I look forward to meeting her. She seems very important to you.”

Jason reached across the table to hold Nico’s hand. “You’re important to me, too. I want her to meet you just as much as I want you to meet her.”

For a second the words ‘I love you’ came to mind, but Jason tucked them away for the time being. It wasn’t that he was afraid to tell Nico how he felt, it was just that he didn’t feel it necessary to drop something so heavy so soon. Jason didn’t want Nico to feel pressured to return any feelings he didn’t yet have, and as it currently stood his own love was still new and unfamiliar. He wanted to grow into things before he started making grand professions of love.

“You know you’re important to me, too?” Nico asked. He sounded vulnerable, and Jason could feel his need to be understood in the twitch of his fingertips in his hand.

Jason smiled. “I know. Don’t you ever doubt that I know that, okay?”

Nico sighed and nodded before relaxing back into his seat. Jason hadn’t noticed him tense up, but he was glad he’d reassured Nico enough to put him at ease. Thinking a change in topic was needed, Jason began discussing things they could do during Reyna’s visit.

“You know we haven’t gotten to travel much since we got here. Leo and I went to Amsterdam once, but half that trip is a blur,” Jason admitted with a slight blush. “I’m thinking we take Reyna to a couple of countries while she’s staying with us. Germany, Switzerland, maybe even see a little of Italy?”

“No,” Nico said so fast, and with such conviction that it startled Jason a bit.

“Uh… okay,” Jason said. He wanted to ask why, but before he could decide whether it was appropriate to ask Nico was already answering his question.

“I want to take you to Italy first… just us,” Nico said. His face was bright red with the confession, and for a moment Jason’s brain screeched to a halt. “I want it to be special.”

In the next second Jason was bending over Nico, kissing him firmly as his thumbs stroked over cheeks that were still warm to the touch. At first there was nothing but a press of lips to lips—with the only intention being to convey love in a way that didn’t need words. Then Nico wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck, and tilted his head to the side, and opened his mouth for Jason’s tongue, and things quickly spiraled out of Jason’s control.

Within minutes they were on the floor. Nico’s hands found their way up Jason’s shirt while Jason’s fingers busied themselves in Nico’s hair. Their mouths only every parted long enough for their heads to switch angles, and even then it was hard for Jason to stop himself from leaning forward to make contact over and over again. The best thing, though, was the way Nico thrust his hips against Jason’s, grinding their erections together in a way that made Jason desperate for more contact. The day Nico green lit sexual contact was going to be one of the best days of his life.

“Unzip your pants.”

“Wait, what?” Jason asked, mind hazy and eager to return to kissing.

“Unzip your pants,” Nico breathed. “I want to touch you.”

For a split second Jason’s soul transcended his earthly body and floated directly to Heaven. The only thing that revived him was Nico’s sudden impatience, leading to a firm tug at his zipper and a hand sliding into his pants to pull his erection out into the open. Jason groaned and bit at one of his knuckles as he felt Nico palm his cock for the first time. It was life changing experience. He’d honestly been expecting some sort of timid uncertainty from Nico—considering how shy Nico seemed about openly romantic displays of affection at times—but by the firm grip and meaningful strokes Jason could tell that when Nico was sexually ready he was fucking ready.

“Shit, you don’t mess around,” Jason groaned. Nico fastened their mouths together again, but Jason was so far gone he wasn’t early as present as he usually was. He let his eyes roll back for a moment as he lost himself in the friction of Nico’s hand. The fingers were long and thin, but his palm was wide and his hold was perfect in a way that forced moans from Jason’s throat like a dying man’s gasps for air.

“Wanna touch you, too,” Jason murmured, hands traveling down to Nico’s hips and hovering right over his zipper.

“Please do,” Nico panted.

Without hesitation Jason undid Nico’s pants and slipped his cock out of the hole in his boxers. He stroked experimentally—wanting to gauge Nico’s reaction before he continued—and when he was met with an uneven groan he eagerly continued with more deliberate strokes. Nico’s cock was almost as long as his but thinner, and there was the slightest curve upward to it that Jason enjoyed following as his hand moved at an increasingly unsteady rhythm.

Eventually their focus was too divided for their kisses to be anything but a sporadic press of lips between gasps of air and hungry groans. Jason wanted to watch Nico—see the pleasure on his face—but as Nico’s pace picked up he found it hard to keep his eyes open and his hips still. Nico, luckily, seemed to be just as affected, because Jason could feel him giving short, aborted thrusts into his hand that signaled he was close. It didn’t take long before they released, semen covering their hands as they both instinctively gripped the bases of each other’s cocks to prevent a greater mess.

When they were finally spent Jason let out a quick huff of exhaustion and rolled on to his back, being careful to keep his cum covered hand up above his head and away from anything it could stain. His brain was still reeling with the suddenness of what just happened when Nico moved his head onto his shoulder and gave a long, satisfied sigh.

“Feel good?” Jason asked, breath still embarrassingly short.

Nico nodded against him. “How about you?”

“Fucking amazing,” Jason breathed. “I just… um… thanks for that.”

Nico snorted. “You always thank your dates for an orgasm, Jason?”

“Only the pretty ones,” Jason said. “And only if it’s a good orgasm.”

“Good to know,” Nico said with a nod. His face then scrunched up and he held his dirtied hand in front of him. “I hate to break the post climax bliss, but I need to wash your sperm off my hand.”

“So romantic,” Jason deadpanned. “Okay then. Come on let’s get up.”

With a little teamwork they managed to get to their feet and zip one another up with only one hand. Once they were decent Jason followed Nico to the bathroom, and they awkwardly washed their hands off before falling into their bedtime routine. Within fifteen minutes they were ready for bed and sprawled on the couch—Nico reading a book while settled on top of Jason, and Jason flipping through channels absently as his brain slowly shut down from all of the day’s excitement.

Jason was just getting into a Danish cop drama when his phone buzzed signaling a text. He groaned, not really wanting to read it but at the same time not wanting to let it go in case it was important.

“Just read it,” Nico said, eyes still scanning the pages of his book. “It’ll bother you if you don’t.”

“You’re right,” Jason sighed. He picked up his phone and noticed the number wasn’t from someone in his contacts.

**+47 26 79 89 23  
** _It’s your father._

Jason paled, but before he could delete the text another message came in.

**+47 26 79 89 23  
** _Meet me tomorrow at Café Amsterdam. 4pm._

Jason turned his screen off and let his phone drop onto the couch. Nico turned to look up at him curiously, and without hesitation Jason decided to confide in him.

“It was my Dad. He wants to meet with me tomorrow.”

“Oh…” Nico folded the page corner of his book before closing it and setting it down. “Do you want to meet with him?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted. “I’m angry and nervous and frustrated—I actually have no idea how to feel.”

Nico nodded. “I understand. Do you want advice?”

Jason ran a hand over his face. “Yes and no?”

“Then I won’t give advice,” Nico said. “But I will say this—whether or not you decide to meet with him doesn’t change the fact that you’re strong, and smart, and completely valid in your desire for independence. I think it’ll be good for you to go, just to get some closure, but if you don’t then I’ll be waiting for you after class with a cup of cocoa and a copy of Airplane ready to watch.”

Jason smiled bitterly and pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead. “I swear I’d be lost without you.”

“Not lost,” Nico said, running his fingers through Jason’s hair. “Just a little less certain. 

They shared a few short kisses before Nico returned to his book, leaving Jason to make his decision. Jason stared at his phone for a while, fingers hovering above the screen as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say, and after what felt like an eternity he finally typed out his message and shut his phone off for the night.

**Jason Grace  
** _Fine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness who gets the award for being the most late updater ever? Probably me. So finally I was able to give you guys Chapter 14 and I'm just so sorry it took so long! If you guys weren't able to read the author comments on [Take Me Home](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3721501/chapters/8242531), I fell into Dragon Age: Origins a couple days after posting Chapter 13 and I just couldn't focus until I finished, so I apologize for that but for now I'm back!
> 
> Thank you to all the lovely people who read Stars while I was absent and sent so many messages asking if I was going to update. Let me assure you all now--Stars has a set ending. I know exactly where this is going, and I promise you all I won't abandon it. In fact, I plan to finish it sometime in July since after that I'm going off to study abroad, so expect the end before then! 
> 
> As always I send my love to my betas [phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) and [shiningdraw](http://shiningdraw.tumblr.com/), without whom Stars would not be nearly as good as it is! Please show them some love and enjoy their writing and art!
> 
> Kudos are love, and comments are extra love because I adore seeing what you guys think and talking with you all. See you next update!


	15. Dredging the Past for Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slow grin crept onto Jason’s face. “Are you saying you’re planning for an us that goes far enough into the future for Juno’s stupid contract to matter?”
> 
> Nico shrugged. “Should I not be?”
> 
> “I didn’t say that,” Jason said, his cheeks hurting as he leaned forward to brush his lips against Nico’s. “But maybe tell me sooner next time. That way we can compare plans.”
> 
> The distance between them closed as Nico pulled Jason against him. “Good. Now shut up and kiss me.”

Café Amsterdam was more of a pub than a coffee shop. Hell, the place didn’t even open until eleven on most days. It was a popular place for businessmen to meet after work because the food was good and the atmosphere was friendly, but otherwise Café Amsterdam was just another mediocre place to eat in the heart of downtown Oslo.

It was that very mediocrity that put Jason on edge as he stepped foot inside the pub. The place was fairly empty, but with the end of the business day approaching, the staff was abuzz with rush hour preparations. It took a good two minutes for a hostess to notice him standing awkwardly by the front door, and when he told her he was supposed to be meeting someone she quickly permitted him to go search the floor before scurrying back to her work. Jason couldn’t help but think about the type of remark his father would make about such flippant service. There was no way he would pick a spot like this to meet without some sort of major leverage going into the situation.

Figuring he might as well get the torture over with, Jason made his way to the back of the restaurant. Jupiter hadn’t told him where he was sitting, but Jason knew his father well enough to know he wouldn’t sit anywhere where he could be spotted easily. Jupiter never liked to stand out unless he knew it would benefit him in some way. Something like an unscheduled trip to Norway to handle his renegade son was probably not going to generate the type of publicity he wanted to deal with.

Sure enough, Jupiter was seated at a back corner table with a glass of red wine and his iPhone in hand. Propped against the wall was his Hermès briefcase (Jupiter owned six that were meant to intimidate based on how expensive they were). Jason sat down without a single word of acknowledgement, and a game of “who can passive aggressively pretend they don’t give less fucks” began. Jupiter kept responding to emails, Jason kept trying to murder his father with glares, and eventually the match was drawn when Jupiter went to take a sip of his wine and grimaced in disgust.

“It tastes like mold water,” he spat, not-too-gently putting the glass back on the table.

“Don’t be so rude. You picked the place,” Jason said. The bite in his tone was so bitter he could almost taste it. Jason wasn’t really expecting that, and he looked away to glare at the wall to avoid his father’s eye.

Jupiter scoffed. “God, they’re all right, you know? Send your kid off to college and he’ll become an ungrateful, brainwashed idiot.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted a puppet instead of a son,” Jason said, attention turning back to Jupiter. “Maybe if you go back to the boarding school they’ll give you a refund.”

“Boy, if we weren’t in public,” Jupiter hissed. Without much movement his entire demeanor shifted into one of oppressive anger. Lips curled, nostrils flared, fists clenched tightly Jupiter was still one of the most terrifying men he’d ever met. The look only lasted a moment, though, and when that moment passed he was back to being the calm and commanding type of asshole Jason preferred to deal with. “I didn’t come here to exchange words, so stop wasting my time.”

“Why did you come here, then?” Jason asked, shifting in his seat to sit a little taller. Nico had told him his posture would be important. If he wanted to be seen as an adult with his own agency he had to stop greeting his father like an angry teenager. “I don’t want to meet with you any more than you do with me, you know. I’ve got priorities of my own.”

“What, like that boy you’ve got?” Jupiter snorted. “As if some experiment in your twenties could be as important as the shit I deal with every day.”

Jason’s jaw clenched. “You will not,” he said, voice eerily level, “under any circumstances, bring my boyfriend into this conversation. Do you understand me?”

One of Jupiter’s brows arched and he leaned back in his chair. Jason expected some sort of mocking retort, but instead all he got was a shake of the head.

“When you finally grow up you’ll realize whatever you’ve got going on now won’t help you in the future,” Jupiter said. He sounded softer than Jason thought he would. Soft, but still angry. “You’ll have to make a choice then between what you must do and what you want to do, so save yourself the trouble and don’t invest so much of your energy into this charade.”

“I didn’t agree to meet with you just so you could talk shit about my relationship,” Jason said. “We’re dropping this subject and you’re going to tell me why you’re here. Now.”

Jupiter sighed. “Fine then. Have it your way.” He reached into his briefcase and brought out a manila envelope which he then handed to Jason. “I’ve spoken to your stepmother.”

Jason’s hand froze on the flap of the envelope. “Oh?”

“Yes,” Jupiter said gruffly, waving at Jason to continue. “I should smart you for making me sit through two hours of her throwing a temper tantrum over your inconsiderate decisions.”

Jason snorted. “I’ll let you know when I feel sorry for you,” he said. He pulled a thick stack of papers out of the envelope and looked over them curiously. “What’s this, a contract?”

“Obviously,” Jupiter sighed. “After Juno was done with her fit she started plotting, and by the time I woke up the next morning she had our lawyers in the parlor room waiting for my signature.”

“Sounds like her,” Jason muttered as he scanned the first two pages of the contract. “What does she want from me?”

“What she’s always wanted,” Jupiter said. “Apparently a lot of you sociology types go on to become lawyers. Something about pre-law courses overlapping with the major. You know your stepmother: one door closes and she tears down the wall to keep the path open.”

“So she wants me to go to law school?” Jason asked. “She’s still on about me becoming a politician?”

“I don’t know why you’re surprised,” Jupiter said. A truly sadistic smile crossed his face as he fiddled with his wine glass. “She’s put over fifteen years into your grooming. A little flex of independence isn’t going to stop her now.”

Jason ran a hand over his face and absently flipped through more pages. He got the gist of what she was offering: His living expenses would be fully paid so long as he stayed on track with pre-law. If he got into one of the schools of her choice his graduate studies would also be paid, but if he didn’t, he’d have to pay back everything they had spent on his undergraduate tuition. As far as Jason could tell there were no stipulations for after law school, but Juno always had an ultimatum.

“This feels suspiciously like making a deal with the devil,” Jason said.

“No, that’s my marriage contract,” Jupiter huffed. Jason almost laughed until he realized whose joke he would be laughing at. “Whatever you feel about this contract you better figure out within a week. If you don’t come to me with a decision before then I’ll assume you’ve declined, and after that, you’re officially disowned. Do you understand?”

Jason narrowed his eyes at his father. “I don’t remember Thalia getting this kind of deal.”

“Your sister was never going to give us what we wanted,” Jupiter said.

“She’s your daughter,” Jason growled.

“And you’re my son, yet all either of you ever do is exasperate me,” Jupiter said. He stood, pocketing his phone and picking up his briefcase as he did. “When it comes down to it my obligations to you two ended as soon as you turned eighteen. Anything I’ve given you after that has come at the grace of your stepmother, so I warn you not to turn your back on her so casually. She has a way of ruining your life without you ever expecting a thing.”

“So why are you even with her?” Jason asked. “If you hate Juno so much, then why bother staying married to her?” Jason paused, remembering something his father had said earlier. “Why even marry her in the first place if you were apparently so in love with someone else?”

Jupiter stopped packing for a moment and a truly repentant look crossed his face. “Jason, if we are not touching the subject of your current romances then we are certainly never going to discuss the ones of my past.” He straightened and hardened a glare on Jason. “Though, do wish your little boyfriend well. If he’s got anything going for him he should be thankful he took after his mother.”

With that Jupiter turned and walked away. By the time he was out the door a waitress had come by the table to ask if Jason needed anything, and when he declined she handed him the bill and went to attend to other customers.

Jason laughed. “Guess he just had to get that one in.”

He put a hundred kroner on the table and left.

 

“Welcome back. Glad to see you made it out alive.”

Jason smiled and slipped out of his boots. “It was a close call, that’s for sure.” After taking his outside layers off Jason made a quick stop to his bedroom to put the contract on his desk. With that suitably put off for a later conversation, he then made his way over to the couch where Nico was sprawled out reading a book. “Scoot over.”

“I’m comfortable,” Nico said, moving to take up even more space.

Jason laughed, and without warning plopped right on top of his boyfriend, making Nico grunt as he tried to breathe under the newfound weight. They wrestled for a bit—Nico struggling to push Jason off the couch as Jason attempted to wrap Nico in the most obnoxious hug possible—before they both tired out and Nico let Jason sandwich him against the back of the couch.

“Are you happy now?” Nico asked, letting his book fall to the floor in favor of wrapping his arms around Jason’s neck.

Jason pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead. “Quite happy, thank you. How was your day?”

“Oh you know,” Nico said with a shrug. “Working on papers, reading papers, trying to figure out which papers go with which class. You’d think I was going to school to become a bureaucrat.”

“Don’t drown yourself in all this work,” Jason said, his hand going to rub small circles on Nico’s back. “I don’t want you to burn out.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Nico assured. He ran his thumb over Jason’s cheek and Jason felt himself turn into a fireball. He burrowed his face in the crook of Nico’s neck and hid his lovesick smile away from any teasing comments. Nico chuckled in his ear and ran his fingers through his hair before pulling back.

“So then, tell me how it went.”

“Well,” Jason sighed, “different than what I was expecting. Dad was the same asshole as always, but he was here on behalf of my stepmother.”

Nico’s brows furrowed. “The woman who wants to turn you into America’s Stepford president?”

“That’s the one,” Jason said with a tight smile. “Apparently, my decision to make my own life choices hasn’t deterred her from attempting to control my life. She has a new proposal for me.”

“And that is?” Nico asked.

“Go to law school for free!” Jason exclaimed, throwing as much ironic excitement into his tone as possible. He even took his hands off of Nico for long enough to give an excited jazz-hand wave before he gave up on the shtick and deflated. “Anyways, I can have school paid for if I become a lawyer.”

“Oh, I see.” For a moment or two Nico was quiet as he played with Jason’s ears, and then asked, “Are you against the idea of being a lawyer?”

Jason bit the inside of his cheek. “I… I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve never thought about being a lawyer before.”

“They wanted you in business before, right?” Nico asked.

“My Dad did,” Jason corrected. “Juno didn’t really care what I was in so long as it lead to politics. I guess she didn’t suggest lawyer sooner because she was trying to appease my father.”

Nico nodded. “Understandable. The lawyer angle works more in her favor, though. Most of our congress is made up of former lawyers.”

“Yeah. She sure did get lucky,” Jason sighed. “Which makes me nervous. Dealing with an angry Dad is a lot easier than dealing with a scheming Juno. At least with Dad I know what to expect.”

“Well, that may be true, but from my outside perspective I see a lot of opportunity here,” Nico said

Jason glanced at his boyfriend and raised a brow. “Opportunity how?”

“You want to help people, right?”

Jason nodded.

“Well, what better way to help people than to be part of the system? The most marginalized people are often benefit the least from the law, and having a good lawyer on their side goes a long way. If you became a lawyer then you could really make progressive steps to help those that need it.”

Jason went quiet as he considered Nico’s point. When Jason changed his major there had been no solid career path in mind. He knew he liked studying about people, and he knew he wanted to bring about some sort of positive change in the world. Now, like always, Nico was presenting him with a real life solution to his dilemma, and the only caveat was that he had to sell his soul to Satan.

“As much as I love where this is going, there’s no way Juno would pay for me to become a lawyer and then let me live my own life. There would be a catch.”

Nico looked down and chewed his lip. Jason was immediately distracted by thoughts of their…  moment the night before. The way Nico had kissed him—frantic and hot, but still so very careful—and how those kisses had dissolved into hot huffs of breath against the side of his face and deep moans whispered into his ear. Despite himself Jason found his lips wandering to Nico’s. He kissed him slowly and firmly, with his lips moving slowly to tease Nico’s from between his teeth. Nico eventually gave in, and for the next few minutes they got lost in the haze of heavy kisses at a steady pace.

Jason eventually got a little too handsy, and Nico pinched his cheek and pulled back from the kiss. It took a few deep breaths for Jason to not whine and try to dive back in, but when he got ahold of himself he offered Nico a little smile.

“Sorry about the distraction.”

“You can distract me like that any time you want,” Nico said. “For now, though, let’s try and reign in the sexual energy. I’m getting there but I’m not quite there yet.”

“I totally get it,” Jason assured. “Whenever you want to stop just let me know.”

“Will do,” Nico said with a nod. He then settled further into the couch, putting some cool-down distance between the two of them, and cleared his throat. “So, back to the issue at hand. I have an important question for you.”

“Shoot.”

Nico took a deep breath. “You said she has a contract, right? As in, something you have a physical copy of?”

Jason nodded. “That’s right.”

“So then,” Nico continued, “you’re going to need some legal advice before you sign anything. Would you… be alright if we asked my Dad for help?”

Jason blinked. “Your Dad?”

“I know it’s kind of weird,” Nico stuttered, “and this is probably not the right way to introduce you to my father, but I don’t want you to sign away your future. My Dad knows a lot about law, or he could at least introduce you to a good lawyer. If we asked him for help, then we might be able to get you your tuition without turning you into Juno’s contractually obligated slave.”

“I…” Jason reached up to run a hand through his face. “This is unreal.”

Nico bit his lip again. “I know it’s not a normal thing. I figured, since your family also has money it wouldn’t seem as… patronizing?” Nico shook his head. “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

“No! No, please don’t apologize,” Jason pleaded. “I’m sorry if I sounded ungrateful. I would absolutely be honored to talk to your Dad, and while asking him for legal advice is kind of nerve wracking I could definitely use his assistance.”

“Really?” Nico asked. “I mean, you don’t have to if it’s too awkward. It was just a suggestion.”

Jason chuckled. “Nico, it’s fine. I mean, I only have a week to get back to my Dad, but if your Dad can hook me up with a lawyer then I’d rather go that route than sign in blind.”

“The timing might be tight, but I’ll ask him,” Nico said with a nod.

“Thank you. That’s wonderful.” Jason took Nico’s face in his hands and peppered kisses across his face. “ _You’re_ wonderful.”

Nico pushed at Jason’s head and laughed. “It’s fine I swear. Besides, if anything I’m securing my own future.”

“Oh?” Jason asked.

Nico smirked. “I mean, if there’s a you and me for any foreseeable length of time, then I can’t be dating a mama’s boy. Even if you’re only tied to her in a strictly legal sense.”

A slow grin crept onto Jason’s face. “Are you saying you’re planning for an us that goes far enough into the future for Juno’s stupid contract to matter?”

Nico shrugged. “Should I not be?”

“I didn’t say that,” Jason said, his cheeks hurting as he leaned forward to brush his lips against Nico’s. “But maybe tell me sooner next time. That way we can compare plans.”

The distance between them closed as Nico pulled Jason against him. “Good. Now shut up and kiss me.”

This time Jason wasn’t the only one that got a little too handsy.

 

“What on earth is _that_?”

Jason blushed and put a hand on his neck. “A hickey.”

The look on Thalia’s face was probably the most embarrassing thing Jason had ever had to endure. He just knew she wanted to rip into him with some sort of snappy remark, but she was so busy trying to breathe through her laughter that she couldn’t form the words. It didn’t help that Jason tugged at his shirt collar to try and fan his overheated face, prompting a loud, “Is that _another_ one!?” before Thalia descended back into a fit of laughs.

“You’re the worst older sister on the planet,” Jason muttered, face now in his hands as he tried to hide from the embarrassment.

“Wrong!” Thalia shouted. “I’m the best big sister, because there’s no way in hell any sister worth her shit would let you get away with a make-out mark that big without embarrassing the hell out of you.”

“I’m twenty-one years old!” Jason squawked. “I’m too old for you to be making fun of me for having a sex life.”

Thalia clicked her tongue. “Jason, if you were the type of guy that walked around like his dick was too big then I wouldn’t make fun of you, because it wouldn’t be funny. You are not one of those guys, though. You are the type of guy that gushes about his boyfriend and writes “Mr. Jason Di Angelo” on his notebooks.”

“I do not do that!”

“You totally do,” Thalia snickered. “My little brother the lovesick fool who gets hickies from his boyfriend.”

“Oh my god please shut up,” Jason groaned. “Besides, I actually have something important to talk to you about. If you really insist on making fun of me can it at least wait until after we talk?”

“Alright, fine,” Thalia sighed. “What’s the big emergency?”

Jason thumbed the pages of the contract where it lay on the desk next to his computer. He was a little wary to talk about this with his sister. He knew she had never envied his position as Juno’s favorite, but it might feel like a slap in the face to know he was getting a second chance after he’d already turned his back on their father. Still, Thalia was probably the only person in the world who could understand the gravity of the situation, and not discussing a family matter with her felt wrong.

“So Dad texted me last night asking to meet.”

The change was immediate. Thalia went from hunched over her kitchen table to an iron rod spine, and were it not for the clench of her jaw she would look like an intimidating force of nature.

“Why?” she asked. “What does he want from you? I thought he was done.”

“I thought so too,” Jason said. “But he wasn’t the one that actually wanted to meet. He was just playing Juno’s messenger.”

Thalia’s lip curled. “What does _she_ want?”

Jason picked up the contract and held it in front of the webcam. Thalia’s eyes widened with understanding and she slammed her fist against the table. It wasn’t the first time Juno had pulled contracts on them, after all. The first contract she ever put between them kept Thalia and their mother from contacting Jason until Beryl died.

“What are her terms?”

“I become a lawyer and all of my expenses are paid,” Jason said.

“Is that it?”

“It’s too complex for me to understand, but as far as I can tell there are no other stipulations.”

“Bullshit,” Thalia spat. “That… that _parasite_ has something else up her sleeve. She would never give you that much without wanting something even bigger in return.”

“I know,” Jason said, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “That’s what I told Nico. He seems to think it’s a pretty big deal if she doesn’t have any leverage on me, but knowing Juno—”

“Of course she’d write leverage into her own damn contract,” Thalia said. “That woman couldn’t do an honest thing to save her life.”

“Well, not all is lost,” Jason continued. “I talked to Nico about it, and he said his dad might be able to get me in contact with a lawyer.”

“What?” The harsh sound the word made as Thalia spoke shook Jason’s confidence. “You’re not really considering this, are you?”

Jason shrugged. “I know Juno’s a manipulative monster—trust me, Thalia, I know—but if I can play my cards right this could really work out in my favor. Maybe the lawyer Nico’s dad introduces me to can help me form a counter offer and I can get the better end of the deal.”

“Jason, that’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.” Jason cringed and shrunk back in his chair. “You know for a fact that that contract is probably sealed like vacuum of space. And even if it’s not—which it is—you and I both know Juno would find some way to take what she wanted from you in the end. You **cannot** win with her. Ever!”

“I…”

Jason had no response to that, because for most of his life that had been the truth. No one got anything out of Juno for free. She was all about ensuring her social position in life, and most of the time that involved luring people in with a false sense of generosity only to collect on it at the worst possible moment. Things were even worse if you’d slighted her in some way. Just backing out of his college plans put Jason at a big enough risk for getting on the shit list. Taking this deal and then trying to back out of it later? That would be suicide.

“Jason, please.”

The wavering strength of Thalia’s voice brought Jason’s attention back to the screen. She was staring at her monitor like Jason knew she’d be staring right at him if she were there, and the fear on her face was real. She knew better than anyone how difficult it was to escape Juno’s wrath. She probably more than anyone wanted to protect Jason from that fate.

“You need to get out now. Leave before she invests too much in you to let go. Let her haunt your twenties and then give up. Trust me—it’s better this way.”

As tempting as that all sounded Jason couldn’t help the voice of protest that was screaming in his head. He had come here to find independence, dammit. How could he let himself go through so much growth—finding a major he really liked,  finding a guy he absolutely loved, finding confidence in his own choices—only to turn tail at the final stretch and succumb to a fate of misery? It would have been one thing for Juno to try and ruin his life after he’d initially declared his major, but if he let the contract slip by without any sort of confrontation it would be like she was getting the final word. A final taunting lifeline that, if left unaddressed, she could tote around for the next fifteen years saying, “Well, I gave him a chance.”

“I can’t ignore this, Thalia,” Jason said. There was certainty in his voice this time that he felt from his viscera that circulated through his entire body. “I want to at least try and take her down, and if I can’t do it now then I’ll settle with a stalemate.”

Thalia let out a growl of exasperation. “Except there are no stalemates with Juno! You know that!”

“I know, Thalia, but this is my choice,” Jason said. “I can’t explain it. It’s just something I have to do.”

A long, frustrated sigh left Thalia’s lips and she slumped in her seat. Jason could tell she was resisting the urge to scream at him until he promised to never consider this deal again, and he appreciated her efforts. Only a handful of people in the world knew how evil Juno really was. Of those select few, only Jason and Thalia knew the lengths their stepmother was willing to go to in order to get what she wanted. It was hard for either of them to willingly let the other become a victim of that sort of manipulation, but luckily for Jason, his sister’s respect for him was stronger than her fear of Juno.

“I swear to God, I’ll kill her if she tries to ruin you,” Thalia said. “I’ll fucking kill her.”

Jason smiled. “I know you will, Thalia. I’d do the same for you.”

“That’s right, you giant prick,” Thalia huffed. “And if I get arrested for the murder of our stepmother I expect your boyfriend to get me the best fucking lawyer in the country.”

Jason laughed. “I’ll strong arm him into it if he doesn’t immediately offer.”

Thalia rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. You’re wrapped around that boy’s finger.”

That, Jason couldn’t argue against. At this point in their relationship Jason was like an eager puppy. Nico could ask him to jump into the harbor naked and Jason would probably do it. Still, he didn’t see that as a bad thing. He was crazy about Nico and he practically radiated the desire to let everyone know.

“Thalia,” Jason said. His voice was low but vibrant with excitement. “I’m in love with him.”

The amusement on Thalia’s face washed away, leaving a slack jaw and wide eyes. Jason didn’t even consider the fact that she might be anything but happy for him—he was just so happy to finally tell someone that he couldn’t help the ridiculous smile on his face. It was obvious Thalia could tell how far gone he was, because she quickly brought herself together and grinned.

“You really mean it.”

Jason nodded. “I really do.”

Thalia laughed and shook her head. “You know, the first time you fell in love—like, for real—I always thought I would have some sort of threatening speech prepared. But fuck, this kid has been really good to you.”

“He has.”

“Like, more than you deserve.”

Jason’s furrowed his brows. “Hey.”

“You said I could make fun of you after serious talk was over, and then you immediately told me you were in love,” Thalia said. “This is your fault.”

“Fair enough.”

Jason had to sit through being teased for the next twenty minutes until Thalia’s girlfriend showed up and pulled her away from the computer. She hung up with a few words of warning regarding Juno’s contract, and with one final jab at his hickies she was gone. Having spoken to his sister and gotten her blessing, Jason felt much better about moving forward with the whole contract revision thing.

He knew Nico had gone to his room to call his father around the same time he left to call Thalia, so Jason decided he should check to see if Nico was still on Skype. When he held his ear to the door he could hear Nico speaking in impossibly fast Italian, which was a little weird considering he usually spoke to his family in English. Then he heard, “Yes I can get him,” and before Jason had time to make it back to his room Nico had opened the door and was staring at him in surprise.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping I swear!” Jason said quickly.

Nico smirked. “Not like you could’ve understood what was being said.” He nodded his head toward his room and held out his hand. “Ready to talk to Dad?”

Jason regarded Nico’s hand with all the caution of a ticking bomb. Oh, this was much sooner than he’d expected. Was he ready yet? Did he look presentable? Shit, what about the hickies?

“Jason?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Jason said. He laced his fingers with Nico’s and kissed the place where their knuckles crossed. “Let’s meet your Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy end of hiatus everyone!
> 
> First of all, thank you everyone for the long wait. I know I dropped the hiatus bomb pretty late after the last chapter, but there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with school work and update this piece at the same time. I got a whole bunch of really sweet messages while buried under my mountain of work, so over the next few days I'll try and get through those to give you guys the responses you deserve. You're all incredibly sweet and I'm so happy so many people have found this fic and enjoyed it so much.
> 
> Now that summer is here I plan to go back on the every-other-week update schedule. My study abroad plans have unfortunately ended, but the free spots in my summer schedule mean I'll be able to give you all the detailed progression that seems to be growing out of my plotting. To put it simply: This story is going to be longer than I thought. 
> 
> Just in case anyone wants more current update information I've set up a tumblr page [here](http://unoffangirls.tumblr.com/starscompendium) that I will adjust every time there is a delay. If you have any other questions about updates (or any questions in general) please send a message to my tumblr and I'll get to you right away! 
> 
> Which kind of brings me to an unfortunate topic that I'd like to address quickly. While the vast majority of you were absolutely lovely and were very patient during the hiatus, I did receive a few comments that either demanded an update from me or inquired whether I'd be updating without any sort of comment on the fic. I'm really not that angry about it since I've never had that long of a pause before, and I'm sure many were concerned over my sudden absence, but there were a few that were more than a little frustrating to receive and I have since deleted them. Please know I realize you are trying to show your appreciation, but when your comment is only asking/demanding an update it can be a little frustrating. This is my passion project and comes behind school, work, and my personal life. I will never drop this fic, but sometimes my life circumstances will keep me from updating right away. Please just remember that for the future, and thank you all for understanding.
> 
> Sorry to dampen the excitement with a sad message, but I just wanted to let that out and hopefully it won't be an issue in chapters to come since I plan regular updates anyway! Thank you all so much for your comments, kudos, and views. Please send love to my betas [phaserburn](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Phaserburn/pseuds/Phaserburn) and [shiningdraw](http://shiningdraw.tumblr.com/). The two of them really make this fic as good as it is!


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